


The Goode Case

by abigailwarren74



Category: American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Coven
Genre: Cute, Cute Kids, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-09-28 15:04:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 48,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10124819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abigailwarren74/pseuds/abigailwarren74
Summary: Foxxay AU. Cordelia comes from one of the wealthiest families in the city. Misty, on the other hand, moved to the city with nothing to her name. They each have a daughter who are surprisingly best friends in school despite their differences. Their paths cross and lives change. But will Misty ever feel good enough for Cordelia? Perhaps falling in love with Cordelia was the worst mistake she could make. Set in any major city you'd like, but I wrote this with New York in mind.





	1. In Which, We Meet Witches

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: All chapters of this story are works of fiction and are not intended to be used as guides. No copyright infringement intended. All character credits belong to the talented team of writers behind this series. Suitable warnings may not be in place so please read at your own discretion. Thank you and happy reading!

 

Cordelia stepped into the walk-in closet of her chic apartment, still figuring out what she should wear today. She bit on her lip all while fidgeting with her black rimmed glasses, subsequently pushing them up and over her head as she walked closer to examine the beading of one of the many blouses she had.

 

"Mommmmmyyyy," a whine came from the across the room.

 

"Yes, sweetie?" she chimed, turning around to face her daughter. 

 

Her daughter had straight blonde hair that fell just beyond her shoulders. They shared the same set of bi-colored eyes and the very habit of of biting their lips.  _ She is indeed a Goode _ , Cordelia thought as she helped her daughter down from the stool that enabled her to reach the clothes she could not reach. 

 

"I don't know what to weaaarrrrr," Julienne cried out again. 

 

It was the first day of school for Julienne who would be entering first grade at the Frances Kollister School, a school for young fine ladies, just down the street from here. It's red brick building stands out amongst the other grey buildings and no doubt, the tuition fees are excruciatingly high. But that was no matter for Cordelia. Her ex-husband, Hank Foxx, was the CEO of Delphi Trust before he died, or you could say, was killed by her mother, Fiona. Hank had left a bunch of money and property after his death to his spouse, who would now never ever need to worry about money. 

 

Fiona and Cordelia are the chairman and vice-chairman of the Robichaux Company, which was a guise for the witches of the city. In the past, it used to run as the sole academy to teach young witches how to control their powers but now, Fiona had expanded it to more than 10 boarding schools all over the country with the main branch in New Orleans run by Myrtle Snow, it now serves merely as the headquarters whereby only huge issues that cannot be solved are reported here.

  
  


Her daughter now dressed in a cute white Ralph Lauren polo dress, skipped towards the living room, leaving Cordelia to rush her hair into a ponytail and just throw on a white blouse and a pair of tan cropped pants, grabbing her keys as she hurried into the lift.

 

###

 

Misty on the other hand, a waitress in a posh restaurant, had scrimped and saved from her monthly income and the occasional generous tips to enrol her daughter in the city's most prestigious school.

 

One would think she would name her daughter some kind of lowly classes name like Candy, or Apple but her daughter had a beautiful name. Amelie Day. After the french musical she had watched when she first moved into the city, pregnant and alone. 

 

Misty stood in the mirror, Amelie standing in front of her as she thought about how far she had come.  _ She thought about the time she was burnt at the stake when people in her community found out she was a witch. They ordered the men to burn her at the stake, but not before they had… She used her power of resurgence to bring herself back. Shortly after, she moved into the city, only to discover she was pregnant. Amelie came 7 months later and the rest was history. _

 

Here she was now, her daughter in tow as she cycled through the streets of the city, feeling the cool autumn breeze against her cheeks.

 

"Now, I want ya' ta' look at me in da' eye and tell me ya' won't use ya' magic in school," Misty said as she turned her daughter around to face her. 

 

Amelie pouted but gave a quick nod anyway.

 

"No breakin' ya' promise, Miss Amelie Day," Misty stated firmly before walking hand in hand with her daughter into the school.

 

###

 

Their daughters have settled into seats next to one another and began chatting almost immediately. It was like a match made in heaven. 

 

Cordelia navigated her way through the crowd to find the mother of her daughter's new found best friend and she spotted the wild blonde standing against the window pane, hands pressed against the glass, looking longingly at her daughter.

 

"Hi, I'm Cordelia, and you must be the mother of my daughter's new best friend, I think," the older blonde introduced.

 

Misty who was clad in a flannel and jeans, was not expecting a lady of such reverence to greet her. She inspected the lady from head to toe. She seemed famous. She even had those signature sunglasses wrapped around her face.  _ Maybe she was a celebrity.  _ A train of thoughts started but she was brought back to earth when Cordelia coughed slightly.

 

Even though she towered above the other lady, she couldn't help but shrink inside at the aura the lady was omitting. 

 

"How d'ya know that's ma' daughter?" Misty forced out, before Cordelia could assume she was mute or something.

 

The other mothers who had heard her accent, sneered in disgust and began walking away but Cordelia seemed unfazed by it. 

 

"It's just, it would explain the deep set eyes, and  _ this _ ," she said, gesturing to the messy curls of the younger woman.

 

Amelie was an exact carbon print of her mother.  _ Thank god she hadn't taken after the monster that had…  _ Misty shivered at the thought of that memory.

 

Misty was about to say more when she was interrupted by the booming voice, "DELIA! Where's my granddaughter now?"

 

Fiona had arrived and the crowd had split in two, allowing her to go down the hallway without any trouble.

 

Cordelia tried to hide her embarrassment. Everyone recognized Fiona. She sighed inwardly as she took off her shades, figuring there was no need to hide now that Fiona had blown her cover.

 

"Mother," she greeted bitterly.

 

Now the crowd was in hushed whispers, forming a slight semicircle around the two of them. Misty had silently slipped into the back of the crowd, not wanting to be in any of this.

 

"It's the Goode family."

 

"Which one is her daughter?"

 

"Oh my gosh, is that Fiona Goode?"

 

"The one with the bi-colored eye of course!"

 

"Cordelia Goode? Is that her?"

 

Misty looked at her watch and immediately cursed under her breath. She was late for her shift. She ran out of the school and biked at full speed the whole way to the restaurant.

 

###

 

Cordelia had just managed to get rid of her mother, but when she turned around, she realised the mysterious wild blonde had disappeared. She tried to locate her once again in the crowd but failed. 

 

###

 

The after school bell rang and students made their way out of the school to the grand steps that lead to the lobby. 

 

Amelie and Julienne walked hand-in-hand as they exited the classroom.

 

"Mommy!!" Julienne screamed when she saw her famous mother walk towards them, "this is my new friend, Amy!" 

 

"Hi, Miss Goode, it's nice to meet ya'" Amelie grinned with a slight accent which was not quite as strong as her mother's. 

 

Just then, Misty walked into the school and spotted her daughter who came running towards her lanky legs, hugging them tightly. Misty looked up to see bi-colored eyes staring back at her and for a moment, she was lost in them.

 

"Hi again, Miss Goode," Misty addressed.

 

In the short 6 hours her daughter had been in school, she had found out from her co-worker Kyle about the Goode family and boy were they out of their league. What Kyle hadn't known was that the Goode family had magic blood running in their family too, but they kept it well hidden from the human world. She had found out that the older woman was firstly, a widow, and secondly, a very rich widow. 

 

"Amy and I want to play at my house!" Julie exclaimed suddenly.

 

Cordelia wanted to say yes certainly but was unsure what the other woman had felt. She threw a questioning glance at Misty, waiting for her reply.

 

"Why couldn't ya choose someone more normal than her," Misty breathed under her breath to her daughter who was oblivious to her mother's distress.

 

"I don't see why not, ya?" she huffed, louder this time, giving in to her daughter's pouting face. She could never say no to that face.

 

And both women were dragged off by their daughters into the tall building just right down the street.

Misty marvelled at the beauty of the neighbourhood. She rarely ever got to go past this district unless she was running extremely late for work. The people that lived here were snobbish, but who could blame them? They were rich. 

  
The two of them walked in silence as their daughters ran ahead of them. Boy, oh boy, what had Amelie gotten her mother into.


	2. In Which, We Find Out Her Gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all!! Please don't be too critical about the Latin words. I did not learn Latin professionally! I literally google translated the entire thing so... Disclaimer: DOES NOT follow storyline of Coven so the gift that I mentioned is AAAUUUUU!!!!! Anyway, only thing I own is my imagination! Happy reading!!

They reached the building within 5 mins of walking and were ushered up a grand looking elevator. Misty was pleasantly surprised when the elevator door opened into the living room of Cordelia and Julienne's house.

 

Their daughters scampered off deep into the house where Julienne's room was located.

 

"Would you like a cup of coffee?" 

 

"Water would do," Misty said as she stood starstrucked on the rug. She glanced around quickly when Cordelia had went to her kitchen. 

 

The apartment was mostly white, very minimalistic. The windows were floor lengthed and peeped out into the city's skyline. The view was magnificent. It certainly was  _ very Cordelia Goode _ . There was a staircase near the windows that led up to the other rooms. It was a nice change from their shabby apartment that looked out to an alley at the back and only had a small living area with a love seat and an old television. They 3 cabinets, a stove and a fridge to call the kitchen and their bedroom consisted of a queen sized bed that was pushed up against the brick wall. But it was enough for them. It was enough for Misty.  _ But was it enough for Amelie? _

 

Well, at least the chinese restaurant was right next to their block.

 

"So, your daughter's name is Amy? I forgot to ask, what is your name?" Cordelia questioned as she set the glass of water on a coaster.

 

"Amelie. Ma' daughter's name's Amelie," Misty grinned at the mention of her daughter, "and ma' name's Misty. Misty Day."

 

"Misty," Cordelia said, testing out the name on her tongue, "it sounds pleasant." Cordelia internally slapped herself.  _ What did "it sounds pleasant" even mean? _ She thought. She was sending the wrong signals too soon. The Cajun however, hadn't seem to mind it one bit.

 

"What 'bout ya' daughter?" 

 

"Julienne. Just Julie usually."

 

"I see."

 

Silence took over and Misty shifted awkwardly in the edgy sofa before reaching for the glass of cold water that was sweating on the coffee table.

 

"So… Amelie? As in the musical?"

 

"Ya' watched it?" Misty looked up to meet bi-colored eyes.

 

"Why… yes. I mean, yes, yes I watc-," Cordelia stuttered, suddenly overwhelmed by the cerulean blue eyes that stared back.

 

She was cut off by Misty's squeal, Cordelia saw that Misty had her eyes on a photo of herself and Stevie Nicks, Fiona's good friend.

 

"Ya' met Stevie?" Misty gasped, and looked at Cordelia. She momentarily forgot she was in a very expensive penthouse apartment, in a very expensive neighborhood, with a very rich lady opposite her. 

 

"Yes, I did. Indeed."

 

"O' ma' lord. I finally found someone who understands!" Misty exclaimed as she eyed the grand piano sitting by the corner, "ya' play the piano? Ya' can play Stevie?"

 

"It's been a while..."

 

"Play somethin'?"

 

"No… no… I'm quite bad at it."

 

"I am sure ya' are not, Miss Goode."

 

"It's Cordelia, please."

 

"I love Stevie," Misty proclaimed again, uncaring that their conversation had drifted elsewhere and Cordelia couldn't help but smile at the innocence of the woman sitting opposite her. Misty seemed barely 25. Whereas Cordelia herself was already in her early 30s.

 

They sat in silence again, Misty happily content with where the conversation had led them and was humming Rhiannon under her breath. Cordelia found herself staring at the blonde beauty in front of her, butterflies in her stomach. The older woman had so many burning questions to ask the Cajun, like how where the accent was from, or how she had ended up in the city. Or why she was such a young mother.

 

The Cajun stood up and wandered to one of the glass panes, her blonde locks shining under the evening sun. Just as Cordelia was about to ask one of her questions, a long shattering sound followed by a shrill echoed throughout the apartment.

 

Misty turned around, hoping to find the older woman but was greeted by emptiness. She ran towards the back of the apartment. 

 

Cordelia had managed to transmutate herself into her daughter's room. The sight of Amelie holding on to Julienne's hand in her own palms, breathing out a chant greeted her. Before Amelie could fully let go of her arm, Julienne spotted her mother.

 

"Mommy," Julienne wailed out loud, yanking her hand out of Amelie's grasp and running towards the straight haired blonde, Amelie stood there unmoving. 

 

"What happened?" Cordelia questioned her daughter as she bent down on her knees and hugged her tightly.

 

The wild blonde had finally arrived and surveyed the room. It was littered with dolls and a large framed painting had fallen onto the floor.

 

"We were trying to play the dolls with our powers and… and one of the dolls went flying to the painting… and I am sorry mommy..." Julienne hiccupped.

 

Misty stared wide eyed at her daughter. She had used her powers outside of the house when Misty specifically said not to. Amelie's face said it all. She knew she was in trouble.

 

"And… and….."

 

"Hey, take your time baby," Cordelia soothed.

 

"I got a big booboo trying to pick up the glass and it was bleeding but Amy… she fixed it with her hands..."

 

"What did you do?" Misty bellowed, punctuating every word, her accent suddenly disappearing into thin air.

 

"Misty, I think it's alright." Cordelia tried to calm the wild blonde who had turned another 10 shades of red.

 

Amelie opened her mouth to speak but was dragged out of the apartment by her mother, silent tears falling from her face.

 

###

 

"Amelie. What did ya' do."

 

"Mom, she had powers too!"

 

"What did I tell ya' 'bout usin' ya' powers?"

 

"But she was hurt, mom!" Amelie cried out, "is it not right to help her? She was bleeding!"

 

Misty paused. That was a grey area there. If it had been her, she would've used her powers too.

 

"Yes, it was right of ya' ta' do that," Misty finally sighed, "but now Miss Goode knows ya' got powers! What if she's a witch hunter? What are we gonna do? We gotta leave..."

 

"Mom! Julie's got powers too!"

 

"Wait what ya' sayin'"

 

"She made the dolls move, mommy… 'am sorry mommy" her daughter whimpered, now full on crying as she threw her arms around her Cajun mother who hugged her tightly.

 

"She made the dolls move..." Misty repeated as she drew soothing circles on her daughter's back. That meant…

 

Cordelia's daughter must have the power of… telekinesis.

 

###

 

Fiona had felt something wrong in a gut and immediately made herself present at the scene. She looked at the mess the room was in and waved her hands while the mess cleared itself up. 

 

"Does your booboo still hurt, darling?" Cordelia asked gently, holding her daughter's hand gently.

 

"No… Amy made it better mommy."

 

Fiona mouthed, "What happened?" to her daughter and Cordelia had mouthed, "wait" before looking back at her daughter.

 

"Why did you use you powers?" Cordelia questioned softly.

 

"Because it was more fun mommy… please don't be angry..."

 

"I am not angry baby, I am just trying to understand the situation better, okay? And how did Amy make your booboo heal?"

 

"She saw me bleeding and then she just held me hand in her hands and she said something that I don't understand and it was all gone..."

 

Cordelia eyed her daughter before moving her eyes to meet her mother's.

 

"Did it sound something like,  _ Sequere lucem venire ad me, et exaudiam te curabo morbi _ , (follow the light come with me, cure your illness I hear thee plea!)" Fiona added.

 

Julienne nodded ever so slightly.

 

"Okay Julie bug, why don't you play with your dollies while me and mimi talk?" Cordelia said, referring to Fiona.

 

"But I don't wanna be alone," Julie whinned.

 

"Okay, why don't you go play the piano in the living room? How about that?"

 

"Okay, mommy" 

 

###

 

Fiona looked at her bewildered daughter. 

 

"Cordelia?" Fiona spoke as she sat next to her daughter on the couch, sipping on her coffee.

 

"It's just this other mother I met at the school. Her daughter, that Amelie girl, became instant best friends with our bug," Cordelia chuckled as she pointed to her daughter, "they wanted to come have a playdate here. So they were playing with the dolls and I think Julie just lost control for a bit and one of the dolls crashed into the painting and she got hurt while trying to pick it up. The rest was just what Julie said." 

 

"Power of healing… that girl was gifted with it."

 

Cordelia nodded. From what Cordelia knew, the power of healing was only gifted to a rare few in the wizarding world. Fiona herself had only known of 2 cases. The first being the supreme Mimi DeLongpre, the second being an unknown witch. This power manifested in children as young as 3 years old and it was said only the children of witches who had the kindest of hearts of their generation and had mastered the power of resurgence could be gifted with it. Unlike the power of resurgence in which the person had to be dead to be resurrected, this power enabled the witch to cure another person. From cuts to more serious illnesses like cancer, nothing could stand in the way of the gifted one.

 

Cordelia clasped her hands together and brought them to her nose. She thought about what she should do next. 

 

"You should try to talk to her." Fiona sounded out after a while.

 

"I will."

 

###

 

Misty sat up in her bed, her daughter sleeping soundly beside her. As she looked at the red swollen eyes of her daughter, she immediately regretted being so harsh towards her. She shouldn't have assumed. But she was trying to protect her. Her mind bounced back and forth berating herself and trying to rationalize what had just happened. She wondered what her next step should be. Should she try speaking to Miss Goode about it? Were they really witches? The Cajun had never met any other witches before. And what would it mean even if they were witches? They couldn't hang out, could they? 

 

They lived in worlds apart. One of Cordelia's meal could probably buy Misty and her daughter four others. It wouldn't matter anyway. The size of Julienne's bedroom was the size of their entire apartment. Misty felt so beneath them. She wished she could give her daughter a life like that too. Her mind ran to the dolls in Cordelia's apartment.

 

_ Was that what children liked now? Dolls?  _ The Cajun only had one soft toy growing up. Sure, she felt a little neglected but she grew up fine didn't she?  _ Right… Living as a single mother in the city feeling abandoned and lost with no money… Sure she turned out alright… _

  
Misty walked over to the drawer and pulled out her bankbook. Misty would just have to miss a meal a day for a month before she could probably afford a decent doll from the mall? She could live with that. One meal less for her daughter's happiness? _ Bring it on,  _ she thought.


	3. In Which, Cordelia Finds Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Refer to notes at the end

Misty had dropped her daughter off at school the rest of the week without getting spotted by Cordelia. She figured it would be awkward for them to meet again so she avoided the other woman completely by dropping her daughter off at school early and picking her up 5 minutes later than usual. But that didn't mean her daughter had stopped being friends with her best friend. Everyday for the past week, Amelie never failed to mention Julienne once in her chronicles at school. 

 

Today however, Misty’s luck seemed to have run out. 

 

Amelie had unfinished homework from over the weekends and decided she would then finish it in the morning over breakfast. This resulted in them being slightly later than usual but still being on time for school. 

 

As the bike rounded the street, she spotted a familiar head of blonde. 

 

The blonde was wearing a black long sleeved dress that flared around the waist and ended just above her knee. She paired them with a pair of louboutins, its signature red sole peeking out. Misty found herself staring at the freckles that littered the other woman's upper chest.

 

"Julieeeeeee" Amelie called once they have come to a halt, jumping off the bike and running towards the mini Cordelia.

 

"Misty, it's so nice to see you again!" Cordelia smiled.

 

"Could say the same fo' ya' too!" Misty grinned from ear to ear for no reason at all. It felt silly. Cordelia was way out of her league, what was she doing?

 

"I gotta' run tho', ma' shift starts in ten," she added hurriedly before biking off into the next street just as Cordelia was going to ask if they could talk sometime soon.

 

The older blonde stood there, still looking at the spot where the wild blonde stood. There was something about her that made her feel weird. She shook the feeling off and started walking back to her apartment to get her car.

 

She was supposed to meet Madison Montgomery at some restaurant upstate. Madison had chosen the place and according to Madison's standards, it was one hell of a good restaurant. As she turned out of the underground carpark in her black Mercedes, her mind couldn't help but wonder how the wild blonde lived her life. Judging from her appearance, she would be rather down to earth. No branded clothes or bags… As for the biking? Maybe she was a health freak. 

 

She smiled to herself when she spotted the valet parking service and handed her keys off to the man. 

 

"Ma'am, do you have a reservation?"

 

"I think it's under Madison Montgomery?"

 

"Right this way, Ma'am, you friend is waiting."

 

Cordelia was brought into a private section of the restaurant and she found herself chuckling. Madison Montgomery had outdone herself again.

 

"My, my if it isn't Cordelia Goode," Madison squealed as she engulfed her friend in a hug, "you've finally gotten out of that apartment of yours. But honestly, with that view of the city, I wouldn't leave either"

 

"Hey! I get out often enough alright!" Cordelia defended playfully.

 

"Right. It's been soooooooo looooonngg, how's life Cordy?"

 

"Just about the same..."

 

"Borrrriiiinnnnggggg, there must be something! A new boy toy perhaps? Men must be throwing themselves at you!"

 

"I wish! These," Cordelia gestured to her woman parts, "dry as the sahara desert." The both of them looked at each other for a bit before bursting out in laughter

 

There was a soft knock on the door.

 

"Come in!" Madison called out in between fierce laughter while Cordelia continued to clutch onto her stomach.

 

The sliding door opened and Misty stood there with her head bowed down. 

 

"May I take ya' order?" A low raspy voice came.

 

Cordelia's head shot up at the sound of that familiar accent. 

 

"Misty?" she queried.

 

Misty's eyes slowly raised to meet bi-colored ones. She couldn't believe it. She hadn't wanted the older woman to find out she was waitressing. She didn't want her daughter to be treated differently. Now Cordelia knew, her sweet Cordelia knew she was as poor as a church mouse. _Her sweet Cordelia? Did she really think that? Argh it didn't matter now._   _Her "sweet" Cordelia was not going to allow her daughter to hang out with some peasant's daughter! Amelie would hate her for this! Oh god, why must this happen!_

 

"You know her?" Madison asked skeptically.

 

"Yes, yes I do. Misty, this is Madison. Madison, Misty." Cordelia introduced the both of them.

 

"Ma'am, if ya' don't mind, I will come back when ya' are ready ta' order." Misty said formally as she excused herself from the room.

 

Back in the room, Madison asked, "Are you sure you're not mistaken? What was that?"

 

"I honestly don't know… She's another mom from school you know? She's really nice… unlike some of them..."

 

Cordelia shrugged it off and figured she would ask Misty later when she was back to take their order but when they pressed the buzzer calling for the waitress, a waiter named Kyle came by instead.

 

###

 

"Ma'am, would you like desert to be served now?" Kyle asked when the two ladies had finished their main course.

 

"Yes, please cute boy," Madison smirked towards the waiter. 

 

"Could you also get Misty?" Cordelia added.

 

"Misty Day, Ma'am?"

 

"Yes" she confirmed.

 

"I am afraid she left a while ago. Her daughter… I am sorry, I don't think I should be sharing this with you Ma'am"

 

"Wait what's wrong with Amelie?" Cordelia asked, concerned.

 

"Ma'am I am sorry, I am in no place to-"

 

"Can I get her number?" Cordelia suddenly blurted out.

 

"I am afraid..."

 

"Kyle, don't worry, I am a fellow mom at the school her daughter is studying at. She knows me," she stated while holding out her phone, prompting him to key in the number.

 

"In that case..." Kyle reluctantly received the phone and punched in Misty's number.

 

"Thank you so much Kyle"

 

Kyle excused himself and went to get the dessert while Cordelia contemplated to whether or not she should call Misty now.

 

"Smooth one Cordy" Madison snickered, looking at Cordelia.

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"I didn't know you were speaking vagina monologues now. The way you got her number? Sneaky," the young blonde remarked, "but I like the new and improved Cordelia Goode"

 

"What! No… Nonsense!"

 

"You totally have the hots for that waitress!"

 

"Madison Montgomery! I do not! I am just worried for Julie's friend. That's all."

 

"Whatever rocks your boat, Cordy!" the famous star spat sarcastically.

 

###

 

After the brunch, Cordelia found herself pacing back and forth her apartment, phone in her hand. She had called Misty on the way back but the call had went straight to voicemail. 

 

Cordelia looked at her phone and saw that it was almost time to pick up her daughter already. Wouldn't do any harm to wait for her a little while, would it? She decided she would just head over to school right now. 

 

When Cordelia approached school, she noticed there were already a few mothers waiting outside of school. She tried to stay as far away from them as possible but they had spotted her and were now stalking over in her direction. 

 

“Miss Goode!” One redhead pointed out, “It’s always pleasant to see you!”

 

“Mmhm,” Cordelia gave a halfhearted answer. It was obvious they were trying to get on the good side of her. 

 

“Would you mind to be so kind as to join us for a fancy cup of tea sometime soon?”

 

Cordelia politely rejected them. A few other questions and offers came but when the other mom's realized their efforts were futile, decided to just gossip instead. Cordelia figured it wouldn't do any harm to listen to the gossip anyway, so she stuck around and fiddled with her phone while listening. Mostly they were talking about the birthday bash of one of their kids that was held last week on Friday and this other mother who had brought cupcakes with artificial flavoring to the party. That was until she heard something that resembled the wild blonde. 

 

“Did you hear about the one with the crazy hair?”

 

“The one with the accent?”

 

“Yes yes! For my daughter’s birthday party, she didn't even get a decent present!”

 

“What did she get Marcy?”

 

“A couple of chocolates that were in an old glass jar. She could've at least gotten a nicer looking jar or something”

 

“Ew! I bet she got them from the dollar shop.”

 

“Did you let Marcy eat them!”

 

“Of course not, I just threw them away!”

 

“Enough!” Cordelia hissed. She threw them a glance that could kill and walked away. The other mothers had gone quiet. Who dared to talked back Cordelia Goode?

 

Cordelia thought back about the party. She had sent Julienne to it with the newest Harrod’s bear she could find and a bunch of expensive bagels she pre-ordered from town. Birthday parties were never a trouble. She figured she would just get the newest and the best. No one dared talk bad about that. She hung her head low in shame when she noticed she hadn't realized that there would be people who were struggling to make ends meet, like Misty. She was a waitress for god's sake… and most of that money probably went into school fees! How was Misty even surviving? Then suddenly she understood. The plain clothing, was not because she was down to earth, she simply didn't have enough money! The biking… she needed to get to school quick but didn't have a car and lived away from this Neighbourhood. 

 

The bell had rung, breaking her train of thoughts. Her daughter came running out to her. 

 

“Hey Julie bug, how was school today?”

 

“No good,” Julienne said with her voice cracking. 

 

Cordelia stopped in her tracks when she heard it.  

 

“Hey what's wrong? What happened” She questioned. 

 

“Amelie cried real bad today. Teacher Lynn had to call her mommy to pick her up.”

 

“What about you? Are you alright? Why did Amelie cry?”

 

“I'm okay mommy. But Marcy and Yvonne were being so mean to Amelie because of her accent and because of the gift she gave Marcy last week. I tried the chocolate, they were alright! They are so nice to me but they bullied Amelie while I was in the toilet!”

 

“What did they say?”

 

“I'm very sure they called her a swamp rat, but I am almost sure that was not the only one”

 

As if on cue, Cordelia’s phone started ringing. She ushered Julienne into the lift while picking up the phone. 

 

“Misty Day here. I received a missed call from this number. May I know ya’ are?” 

 

“Hi Misty this is Cordelia here."

 

"How did ya' get ma' number?"

 

"From Kyle."

 

"Damn Kyle..." Mist breathed angrily.

 

"Hey hey I begged him for you number. If anything, it's my fault," Cordelia defended quickly, not wanting to ruin anything between Kyle and Misty, "I just wanted to ask if Amelie was okay."

 

"How d'ya know..."

 

"Julie told me everything. She's very upset it happened."

 

"Hey, if this's' really 'bout not wantin' Amelie to hang out with Julienne cause' I'mma waitress, please don't do this, it's 'bout ta' children, not me. I raised my daughter ta' be the best person that she can be and me bein' a waitress will not affect that. Ya' can look down on me all ya' want but not ma' daughter, please." Misty begged, a silent tear rolling down her face. She figured Cordelia would be just like the other mothers, Marcy's mom, Yvonne's mom. 

 

Cordelia was so confused, "What? Misty. No. I would never stop the children from hanging out. Why would I? I am not like the other mothers. I would never, ever, ever look down on someone because-"

 

"Mommy can I speak to Amy pleaseeeeeee," Julienne pleaded. 

 

"I'll talk to you about this later, Julie wants to talk to Amy, is that okay?" Cordelia asked on her daughter's behalf. 

 

"Hold on, just gimme' a minute"

 

"Harllowwww?" Amy spoke.

 

"Julie!!!" A high pitch voice came through. 

 

"Are you feeling better?"

 

"I'm better. But ya' know what can make me feel betta'? Playin' with dollies!" Amelia chimed as she turned around to search for approval from her mother who had went to answer the incessant banging on the front door. Four men entered their cramped apartment, "YOU HAVE BEEN LATE FOR PAYMENT" one of them boomed, "PAY UP BITCH, YOU THINK YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH THIS?"

 

"Mommy can Amy come over? Dollies can help Amy feel better," Julie said as she passed her phone back to her mother and looked up at her hopefully, pulling Cordelia out of the elevator into their living room.

 

"Darling..." Cordelia paused, pressing the phone to her ear, hearing some commotion on the other end.

  
"Stop!!! MOMMMYYYY!!" was heard from the other line, a sharp scream and a thud and then the line went silent.

 

"Misty? MISTY?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CLIFFHANGERRRRRR dundunduuunnnn. Chapter 4 should be up by tmr though!!! Much love!!! Comments are appreciated! Thanks for reading y'all!


	4. In Which, We Witness a Love Budding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy reading!

Misty was late on her payment of rent for two months now. She simply couldn't afford, saving most of it up to pay a whole lump sum of cash to the school and she also had to get her daughter school supplies. 

 

Misty took the first punch. It hit her square in the jaw and she could almost feel the entire thing dislocate. Another blow came her way, causing her to lose her balance and crash backwards against the wall. Misty yelped loudly as another blow came again and another and another. Until the whole world became stars and she felt blood dripping from her nose and her mouth. 

 

"We'll be back, lady. And the next time, you better have money or..."

 

She heard a wail. Her daughter. Misty tried to move but she couldn't. Tears sprung from her eyes as she felt so helpless, not being able to protect her daughter and in that moment, she did something she hadn't done since she left that hell hole in New Orleans, she prayed. She prayed that her guardian angel would save them.

 

###

 

Cordelia felt a sick feeling in her stomach and sunk onto the marble floor of their living room. Something bad had happened to Misty. She needed to find her, but how? She fumbled with her phone and dialed for her mother.

 

"Fiona, I need you here right now."

 

Fiona heard the urgency in her daughter's voice and appeared in front of her. "What's wrong, Delia?"

 

"Misty Day is in trouble."

 

"Go, I will keep Julie company."

 

"Mommy?" sounded out a sweet voice. 

 

"Mommy's got important things to do now Juls. Why don't Mimi play tea party with you?"

 

"Okie!" Julienne exclaimed.

 

###

 

Cordelia meanwhile had found herself in a sketchy neighbourhood. 

 

"Hey Lady!" a man on the street whistled. 

 

It felt wrong, yet all right being here. Cordelia closed her eyes tights. Something was drawing her towards a reddish-brown apartment building. She transmuted herself towards her instinct and prayed hard it was the right apartment. 

 

###

 

Misty was falling in and out of consciousness. The men had beat her up quite badly. She thought she saw a figure rush past. _ Her daughter. Where in the world was her daughter?  _ Everything went black.

 

###

 

When Cordelia found them, daughter laying atop mother, unconscious, she held both their hands and transmutated them back into the apartment. 

 

When Amelie awoke, she immediately tried to heal her mother again but Fiona advised against it as it drained too much of her. Fiona thought Misty was too far gone and had said she would rather have the lady die and resurrect her than heal her from this state. Amelie was insistent though, that stubborn little girl… And Fiona gave in after a while, helping instead. There were still a few bruises here and there but most of the internal injuries were gone now.

 

Now Misty lay on the bed and Cordelia reached over the brush Misty's hair out of her face. The younger witch looked so vulnerable in her unconscious state. Cordelia's heart was racing. She hadn't felt this way. Not with her ex-boyfriends. Not with Hank. As she continued to caress the younger blonde, her fingertips accidently brush against bare skin. She hadn't thought twice about visions as they don't happen very often anymore. She could usually control them but this time,

 

A Sight took over her.

 

_ Misty Day's childhood flashed across her eyes, and then all of a sudden she was being dragged on the ground in the mud, and then men were hovering above her as she cried out in pain, then the flames engulfed her. And she awoke again in the bayou, somewhere in New Orleans. She hopped on a bus to the city they were now in, and shortly after became a mother. She cried very often in her room, when the baby was crying. But tears turned into laughter when her daughter slowly grew up. _

 

Cordelia gasped, mouth shaped in an O, at the intensity of the vision.

 

###

 

When Misty woke up again, she was in a different place. The sun was just rising.  _ Wait that isn't right, they couldn't see the sun rise from their apartment. _ Only the smelly alley down below. Misty's head throbbed heavily as she rose from the white duvet.  _ If heaven was like this, she would stay here forever. _

 

She looked down at her fluffy white bathrobe and traced her fingers around the gold embroidery that was on the left pocket.  _ C? C for Cordelia? Was she at Cordelia's house? _

 

She popped her head out of the room when a thought struck her.  _ Where was Amelie? Had the bad men taken her away? _ Her feet pattered down the steps to see a beautiful sight that greeted her. She paused midway on the staircase and looked at Amelie who was dressed in a white burberry polo shirt and beige pleated skirt, her usual hair in two braids that fell on her shoulders. Julie had the same outfit on except it was in a tinge of pale pink and her skirt was red instead. 

 

"Mommy, mommy! Look at my new outfit!" Amelie grinned as she twirled around to show her mother. Julienne stood beside her and put her hand on her shoulder.

 

"Girls! Who are you talking to- Oh! I am glad you're up, Misty. How are you feeling?" Cordelia chirped as she exited the kitchen with a coffee in hand.

 

Misty was momentarily frozen in her spot. Usually when she saw the older woman, she was dressed to the nines. Today, she stood there in a pair of navy cropped slacks and a GAP shirt, hair in a messy ponytail, face free of make-up. She didn't know the woman wore glasses but there they were, sitting atop of her nose in a nerdy fashion.

 

_ Gosh, she looks so cute.  _ Misty thought.

 

She watched from the staircase as Fiona emerged from the kitchen holding two lunchboxes, passing one to each of the girls. 

 

"Misty, Delia," Fiona acknowledged, "I'll leave you two to talk." 

 

Misty and Cordelia waved goodbye to the girls as Fiona and Delphine ushered them into the lift. Cordelia sunk into the sofa and stared at Misty.

 

"Are you going to stand there all day?" She smiled at the wild blonde and patted on the space next to her, "Come sit here if you'd like."

 

Cordelia frowned when Misty opted to sit across her instead but let it go anyway. The older woman crossed her legs on the sofa and shifted until she was comfortable before finally speaking, "Do you want me to tell you what happened? I'm sure it must be hazy."

 

Misty gave a small nod, not making eye contact with the woman.

 

"Okay, well, the men got you pretty bad. When I arrived, both you and Amelie were unconscious on the floor."

 

"They hit her?" Misty gasped, tears flooding her eyes.

 

"No. No. She was trying to heal you but I guess it was a little too much so she fainted. I brought you both back here and she awoke a few minutes later asking for you. My mother helped her with the incantation and they both managed to heal you without another fainting spell. You wouldn't wake up last night, so I got the helper to changed you into a bathrobe, which explains what you are wearing now." 

 

"Oh, thank god… Thank ya' so much Miss Goode. I don't know what're happened if ya' hadn't found us," Misty thanked as she eyed the older blonde shyly, suddenly weary of what she was wearing and wrapped the bathrobe tighter around herself.

 

"It's only right after what Amelie had done for Julie. And please, it's Cordelia to you."  _ And because I can't lose you. Not when I am falling so hard for you. _

 

"Thank ya' so much, Miss Cordelia, I don't know how ta' repay your kindness."

 

"You don't ever have to, okay? It's what witches do. We help one another," Cordelia saw her chance to bring up the topic she wanted to talk about since the first time they met, "Misty, your daughter. She is gifted."

 

###

 

The next hour was spent explaining the whole witch corporation to Misty. The wild blonde was simply happy to have found people like her. 

 

The older woman had so many questions to ask about Misty's time in New Orleans. About the men that burnt her at the stake. The vision was hazy around that part, as though Misty herself had suppressed those memories. Cordelia tried at prompting the wild blonde to talk about her past, but she seemed to want to keep her mouth zipped about that. 

 

###

 

The wild blonde was attracted to the windows like a bug to the light. Cordelia found herself staring at the beauty who stood there, swaying a little as she hummed out another one of Stevie's song.  _ Gosh, I really fell hard for her. _

 

"It's a nice view, huh?" Cordelia spoke as she joined the blonde at the windows.

 

"Yea..." the wild blonde whispered.

 

Misty thought about the life Cordelia had. The life she would probably never have. Were they friends now? 

 

"Yes, of course I am your friend. I could be more if you wanted" Cordelia responded boldly to Misty's thoughts. 

 

"What how didya' know ma' thoughts? And what did ya'mean ya' could be more?" Misty she couldn't believe what she just heard.

 

She looked down to meet the bi-colored eyes. It was only now she had realised how blue one of them were. It was like the sapphire in it burned for eternity. The brown one was the colour of the tree barks she had familiarized herself with back in the bayou. That eye hid rows of forests behind them. There was something magical about those eyes. She stared deep and hard into them.

 

"You were thinking out loud. And..." Cordelia said, still looking at the swamp witch. 

 

"An' what?" Misty breathed hazily. Silence engulfed them in a sheet except for the cool hum of the air conditioner in the background.

 

Cordelia took a step towards Misty, narrowing the gap between the both of them. She held her hand up to cup Misty's cheek, ensuring to block off all visions. She looked long and hard into cerulean blue eyes, seeking for approval before her head tilted and their lips grazed gently until the swamp witch closed up the remaining distance and crashed her lips onto Cordelia's. Cordelia's tongue licked against Misty's lips, seeking to enter her mouth. The older woman grinned into the kiss when she felt the swamp witch's lips part and their tongues engaged in a sacred dance, battling for dominance over the other. Misty's lanky arms wrapped tightly around the older woman, snaking around until she grabbed the back of the older woman's head and pushed her further into the kiss.

 

They both broke away simultaneously in a desperate attempt to reclaim some air before they had run out completely. 

 

Cordelia smiled and bit her lips.

 

"Did that answer your question, Miss Day?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okie guys, so this is my first even kiss scene I have written. It's not too good but I tried my best! Please don't be too critical of it! I'm still learning. Anyway, Chapter 5 won't be here till the weekends I think. Sorry bout that. My brain's a little fried from this fic. Other fics may be started/updated tomorrow! You guys can look forward to that!


	5. In Which, Amelie Says Sorry

 

Misty found herself in the bathroom half an hour later, singing to herself while inspecting the bruises that were still left behind.

 

She pressed her finger into an awfully blueish bruise and let out a yelp in the shower. Her finger trailed down her visible rib bones and counted them one by one.  _ Ain't that so depressin' _ , she thought.

 

Ocean blue eyes wandered to the rows of shampoo that lined the concave in the wall. She took one out and poured it out onto her palm. It smelled heavenly, a mixture of something sweet and perhaps strawberries. The one she had at home was the usual lavender one that smelled strongly of chemicals. 

 

###

 

Cordelia ran her hand through her blonde hair and pulled apart her ponytail.  _ Did the kiss mean the same thing to the both of them? _ Bringing her fingers to her lips, she bit on them for a bit. If Fiona were here, she would say, "get that filthy shit out of your mouth!" But then she wasn't here to chide her daughter so Cordelia continued biting them anyway. She waved her hand at the flat screen TV and it came to live.

 

"Hey," Misty called after exiting in a pair of Cordelia's sweatpants and a fleetwood mac shirt Cordelia vowed to give her after seeing the swamp witch's small freak out when the shirt was revealed.

 

"Come sit here!" Cordelia beamed as she patted the seat next to her and this time, Misty obliged and sat there. The older woman could feel the heat radiating off the younger woman and suddenly felt a need to snuggle. Cordelia bit her lips and contemplated her actions before thinking,  _ screw it. She could just push me away if she felt like it. _ So she scooted a little closer to the taller blonde and let her hands play with the tips of the wild curls.

 

Misty seemed to get the idea of where this was going and pulled the older woman closer to her, enveloping the shorter woman in a tight hug.

 

Cordelia beamed and put her head on the wild blonde's shoulders, enjoying this feeling while breathing in the scent of Misty. It was her body wash, yes but it smelt different on Misty. She silently wished she could do this everyday. Hank hadn't been one to enjoy cuddles when he was still alive but at least there was some sort of comfort in having emotionless sex, at least it was connection. But since he died 2 years ago, it had been loneliness all over again like the times before Hank. On the other hand, Misty… Well, Misty… 

 

The excited chatter signaled the girls' arrival back home and they snapped Misty and Cordelia out of their daze. 

 

"Hi Mommy, hi Miss," the both of them chirped.

 

Both the woman decided to allow the girls to play for a bit but soon it was dinner time.

 

"Girls! Kitchen! Now" Cordelia called out for what seemed liked the millionth time.

 

###

 

Dinner basically consisted of a 7 course meal. There was a mushroom soup, and a dish of sauteed asparagus which the girls had avoided completely, a whole chicken sat in the middle of the table, some sort of Carp lay side by side to it. They were then served a cold salad and then a pasta followed by ice-cream.

 

Misty and Amelie watched and watched as dish appeared after dish, even when they thought they couldn't stomach any more.

 

After dinner, both Misty and Amelie were so full Amelie exclaimed, "I think I'm going to exploooodddeee!!"

 

###

 

Night had fallen in the city and the bright lights from the city center illuminated the dark night.  

 

Misty was intent on going home tonight. She had already troubled Cordelia the night before so she couldn't do it again. 

 

"Amelie! Come'on, let's go," Misty shouted towards Julienne's room.

 

"Stay, stay!" Cordelia told Misty.

 

"Oh… No… I can't! Amelie!"

 

"Don't be daft, we've got so many rooms to spare!" Cordelia began.

 

She looked at Cordelia and momentarily considered the offer but no. She couldn't take up the offer. It was more of a pride thing than troubling Cordelia. She wanted to show that she was more than capable of supporting her own daughter.

 

Cordelia kept trying to keep them here and now Misty was annoyed. When Amelie hadn't appeared after the third call, Misty resulted in calling her by her full name.

 

"Amelie Sara Day. You get out here right this instant," her accent faltering.

 

She still didn't appear.

 

Cordelia smirked to herself, knowing that Amelie didn't want to leave either.

 

But nonetheless called out, "Julienne Harper! Stop hogging Amelie! She needs to go home."

 

"But MOM..." a response came.

 

Misty had enough. She stormed to the room and flung the door open.

 

Amelie and Julie were huddled up in the middle of the room, playing some sort of imaginary tea party with the countless amount of dolls Julie owned. Amelie was dressed in a poofy Cinderella dress while Julienne donned a yellow Belle one.

 

"Come on, Amelie, we gotta' go," Misty said softly again.

 

"Mom… I wanna stay," Amelie whined. 

 

Misty flinched when Cordelia's cold palm came in contact with her shoulder.  White knuckles from clenching her fist too hard, and gritted teeth in an effort to remain silent, her hunched form exuded an animosity that was like acid - burning, slicing, potent. Her face was red with suppressed rage. She swung around and mentally snapped at Cordelia.

 

"No." Misty said firmly turning back to her daughter and walking over, stripping her of her princess identity.

 

"Mom, why not?" Fresh tears seeping through Amelie's eyes.

 

"Because… Home is perfectly fine." Misty gulped.

 

By now, Misty had grab ahold of her daughter's wrist and backpack, leading her in the direction of the elevator at the front of the house.

 

Amelie tried to release herself from her mother's firm grip and suddenly sat down in the middle of the living room. The sudden weight caused Misty to be pulled back by a step and release the iron grip from her daughter's hand, she looked at her daughter sternly, not believing what she just did.

 

"But home doesn't have toys!" Amelie shrieked.

 

Now Amelie was on the floor having a full blown tantrum as Cordelia watched on with Julienne hiding behind her. Fiona had somehow appeared from one of the rooms as well and looked on.

 

"Amelie Sara Day, you get your butt off that floor right now or..."

 

"But… but… Julie has all the dollies and toys here and her bed is soft, not like the one we have home. And the food here is good too… And lunch is good and everything is better here. Ya' don't ever buy me any dollies! Not one, Mommy! I've been a good girl. I want one! Why can't we stay here like last night?" Amelie questioned through her cries.

 

Misty was so embarrassed she wanted to dig up a hole right now and hide it in forever. She knew she shouldn't have said this and she immediately regretted it but

 

"If you like it here so much, why don't ya' just stay here and ask Miss Cordelia if she could be yer' mother instead of me?" Misty burst.

 

And with that, she dropped the small backpack she was holding and stormed into the lift, riding it down all the way to level 1, exiting with tears burning in her eyes into the cold fall weather without a coat. 

 

###

 

Cordelia watched on as Misty marched out of the building. 

 

"Fiona!" She called out, "take care of the girls for a bit, I'm going down."

 

She received a quiet nod and reached for two coats hanging from the coat hanger before transmutating to the apartment lobby. 

 

Fiona reached out to pick up Amelie who was still on the floor. She placed the small child on her hip and tried to calm her down, pacing around the room for a bit before walking towards one of the windows to see if she could spot Misty and Cordelia.

 

Cordelia ran out of the apartment building's swinging door and into the cold night, casting a look around the front before spotting a black figure turning round the building. Cordelia chased after Misty on full speed before transmutating in front of her.

 

"Misty..." the older blonde said as Misty tried to go around her.

 

When the younger blonde saw that her efforts to get away were futile, she broke into an uncontrollable sob. Her lips quivered at the thought that she was not good enough for her daughter. She never would be. She should have given her up for adoption all those years ago when a wealthy couple offered her money in return for the child. She wouldn't have taken the money but now Amelie would be living a hell of a life. Not a hell life with her.

 

Cordelia hung the extra coat over Misty's shoulders and put her hand on Misty's back drawing comforting circles as she watched the woman fall apart. If Julienne ever said that to her, she would be in a bigger mess than Misty right now. But Amelie is only 6 this year. You really couldn't blame her for being so straightforward.

 

"Shhh… it's alright… Amelie, she… she didn't know what she was saying..." Cordelia cooed gently.

 

"She knew alright! She's old enough to know what she wants in life and it's what I can't provide! You've seen our stinky apartment first hand. Would you want to stay there? It's never enough… It's never enough..."

 

"Misty… A home… Well, it's not where it is, it's who it's with. Home is a feeling. It is the feeling of warmth and happiness. Of anger and sadness too. Home is the memories, good or bad, it is the times you've spent together. Home is never one fixed place, Misty. Home is where your loved one is."

 

"You think so?"

 

"I know so, now why don't we go back up so Amelie can apologize?"

 

Before anything else could be said, Cordelia's phone rang. It was Fiona.

 

"Delia, Amelie wants to speak to her mother."

 

Cordelia handed her phone over the the Cajun who was still sniffling away.

 

"Hello?" Misty said into the phone.

 

"Mommy… I'm sorry..." Amelie squeaked, "please come back for me… I don't want any dollies anymore… I want you momma"

 

"Amy… I… Momma's sorry too 'kay? I'll get ya' 'dat doll ya' wanted tomorrow 'kay?"

 

"Okay..."

 

Misty held tightly onto the phone as her heavy breath came out in a cold mist. She srewed her eyes shut as more silent tears dripped down onto the cracked pavement. Cordelia put her hand on Misty's cheek, wiping away any stray tears, looking to see if Misty was alright.

 

The Cajun passed the phone back to Cordelia.

 

"Thank ya', Dee" Cordelia's newfound nickname slipped from the Cajun's mouth.

 

"Dee?"

 

"Sorry… You don't like it?"

  
"I love it," the older woman said as her lips curled into a tiny smile. The Cajun mirrored the smiled, eyes still red from the crying but it was alright now. It was alright now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sad. Sad. Sad. Sad. Sad. Next update won't be till Monday! Sorry guys! Happy reading!


	6. In Which, Misty Goes Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, Latin chant may be incorrect, but this one is the one Misty used in the show. Happy reading!

The next day came like any other day would and the two ladies found themselves in Misty's tiny apartment. 

 

Misty had taken the day off from work to clean up the mess those men have made. As she entered the apartment, she felt her heart skip a beat. It was in a mess. Books were strewn from the bookcase onto the floor, pots and pans have also left their place on to stove and fallen to the floor. The umbrella stand was also no longer upright and the lover seat was out of it's usual place. 

 

"No no no!" Misty cried out when she saw that all her potted plants had been smashed onto the floor. Most of them were dried up by now.

 

She gently picked the plants, careful to avoid any bits of broken pottery on the tiled floor and placed them on the coffee table. Cordelia watched as the younger witch disappeared into the only room and came out holding a couple of small clay pots that fit into her hand.

 

The Cajun worked quietly as she placed the dead plants into individual pots, lining them in a row on the glass. 

 

" _ Eko, eko, Azarak, Eko, eko, Zomelak, Bazabi lacha Bachabe, Lamac cahi achabahi, Karrelyos."  _

 

One by one, the plants slowly rose up and turned lush green like they were never dead before. She smiled at the sight of it, turning to the older woman who looked joyful too.

 

"That was amazing, Misty." Cordelia commended, impressed by the wild blonde. 

 

"Ya' think it's cool?"

 

"I've never seen anything like that." Cordelia confirmed.

 

###

 

They had spent the rest of the morning cleaning up the apartment to match it's former state which was not much. 

 

Other than a severely damaged bookcase, there was nothing else to be replaced. 

 

###

 

Cordelia had driven Misty to Macy's a little bit downtown. 

 

The Cajun wowed at the enormity of the mall. It was nothing like she had ever seen. Sure, she's seen it from the outside, but it was a whole different feeling being behind those doors. Women shopped around with their husbands in tow, holding their countless bags while children played with display toy sets on another level. Everyone felt so happy here.

 

Cordelia walked behind Misty as she settled her eyes on one particular bookcase. It was not the usual big ones, but rather, it was a small vintage army green one. Misty had been circling around this one for quite a bit before she picked up the price tag and then quickly letting it go like it had burned her.

 

"You like this one?" Cordelia approached.

 

"Uh… Nah, this ain't right for me."

 

"I saw your eyes light up when you saw this one!"

 

"Ya' must have had ya' eyes crossed, Dee" Misty lied.

 

She did like this one. She liked it a lot in fact. But it costed a fortune.

 

Cordelia eyed her suspiciously before picking up the price tag like Misty had before and the swamp witch held her breath, waiting for Cordelia to faint but she was unaffected by it and even smiled.

 

"You sure you don't like this one?"

 

"Nope." Misty confirmed, her eyes still locking with the green beauty.

 

"Alright then, if you can't find anything here, why don't we go see if we can find a nice doll?"

Misty nodded eagerly and they headed up to the fourth level where the toys laid.

 

As they emerged, Misty's eyes went wide with surprise. Never in her entire life had she seen so many toys. She had expected there to be an aisle for girls and an aisle for boys but instead, there were sections for girls and sections for boys. And they had a baby section, and a toddler section and to top that off, there was a unisex section.

 

A train set stood in the middle, dividing the sections. Misty found her legs carrying herself towards it despite her willing herself not to.

 

"Holy shit, Dee."

 

"Holy shit, indeed."

 

###

 

Cordelia introduced the different kind of dolls to Misty. There were those that were hyperrealistic, those that wet themselves. There were stuffed dolls and there were porcelain dolls. There were also wooden ones. 

 

"What da' ya' mean they wet 'emselves?"

 

"Like pee themselves." but that seemed to earn an even more confused glance from the first timer.

 

"Whutt??"

 

"Julie had one of those but it got so annoying so I took it away and stuffed it in the storeroom. I'll show you how it works the next time you're around."

 

"M'kay… OH! This one's gonna be perfect fo' Ames!" Misty squealed in delight as she picked up a rag doll from the discount basket.

 

Cordelia shook her head at the wild blonde's lack of knowledge in dolls.

 

"I think… She would like something more like..." and pointed her index finger to the doll on the top shelf behind the counter.

 

Misty followed her gaze to where Cordelia had pointed. It was really the most beautiful doll she had ever seen. Probably because it looked exactly like her daughter. The wild curls, the blue eyes and the pale alabaster skin.

 

"Yea… Wow..." Misty found herself speechless again.

 

"Why don't we get that for her, huh?"

 

"Yea… I need to use 'de washroom tho'. Ya' know where it' at?"

 

"Just go down to the second floor and turn left, there should be a sign."

 

In truth, Misty had offered to go so she could count the money she had before actually making a purchase. What was she going to tell Cordelia when she didn't have enough?

 

Cordelia on the other hand had sent Misty to the furthest washroom as she was trying to get something settled. When she saw that the messy blonde had disappeared out of earshot into the crowd, she hastily approached the counter.

 

"Hi, Ma'am, how may I help you?"

 

"Umm… That doll? Can I get that." Cordelia pointed to the same doll she had showed Misty a couple of seconds ago.

 

"Sure Ma'am. That would be 179 dollars after discount. Are you paying by card?"

 

"Yes," Cordelia said pulling out her American Express card, "and I have one more request..."

 

"At your service, Ma'am"

 

"Could you… This is going to sound weird but could you remove the price and put it back first and when my friend comes by to buy this later, tell her it's 15 dollars and it comes with..." Cordelia reached out to her right to pick out a tiny pram for the doll, "this. Just say it comes for free with the doll."

 

"Ma'am..."

 

"I know… I know it's a weird request but please?"

 

"Your wish is my command, Ma'am. That would be 225 dollars in total."

 

###

 

Misty had returned back from her toilet break. She didn't know if she had enough or not. She only had 10 crumpled ten dollar bills. But even then, she still had to consider some money for grocery that week…

 

"Misty! Over here!" Cordelia called out to the wild blonde.

 

The younger blonde had her head hung low, knowing she would once again have to disappoint her daughter.

 

"Hey… What's wrong, Mist?"

 

"I… I don't think I can get that..."

 

"Oh… Why don't we just go ask for the price first?"

 

"Yea Dee… I don't think that would'b necessary..." Misty had said but the older woman was not hearing any of it and had already dragged the Cajun over to the counter.

 

Cordelia made eye contact with the lady that had served her just now and gave a subtle nod.

 

"Hi Ma'ams, how may I help you today?"

 

"Hi! We are looking to see that doll up there" Cordelia chirped.

 

"Sure, Ma'am, let me get that down for you."

 

"How… how much does it cost..?" Misty stuttered softly. It broke Cordelia's heart in two.

 

"You're lucky today, Ma'am! It is on a 90% discount only for this hour! And it also comes with one of these," the sales assistant said, waving her hand over the prams at the side of the counter.

 

"What?" Misty's eyes lit up, "that is sucha' deal, Delia," she said in a hushed whisper.

 

"Yes it is! Now you should get it for Amelie!" Cordelia smiled, thanking the sales assitant for her quick thinking.

 

"Ma'am, the total for those two will only be a mere 15 dollars! I suggest you get it soon before it runs out!"

 

"Ya' really mean it's 15 bucks?"

 

"Yes Ma'am, it's 15 dollars. Would you like to get it?"

 

"Course I'll get it!" Misty's voice was louder now, pushing two of her ten bills over the counter.

 

"Here is your 5 dollar change, Ma'am, enjoy your product!" The lady smiled, handing the large bag over to the Cajun whose eyes were crinkled around the side, mouth wide in a smile.

 

###

 

Both blondes exited the mall, Misty holding the white carrier to her chest as if it were very heavy but when Cordelia asked, Misty had chuckled

 

"I just wanna keep it close to ma' hart' y'know?"

 

Cordelia joined in with giggles of her own. It was times like this that made her Misty so hella precious. 

 

###

 

A few days later, Misty's eyebrows creased in worry when the doorbell to her apartment rang again. Amelie came running to Misty from their room, the same worried look plastered over her face.

 

"Amelie, ya' go ta' ya' room an' call Miss Cordelia 'kay? Hey… don't ya' cry 'kay? Mama's goin' ta' be alright. Ya' call her an' don't come out." 

 

The Cajun ran a hand through the messy curls of her daughters, squeezing her shoulder. She took a deep breath preparing herself for some beating before opening the door. But instead of burly men standing there, a man in a blue collared uniform stood in front of her.

 

"Special delivery for Miss Day?"

 

"Yes, that is ma' name."

 

"Sign here," the pen stuck out the paper in Misty's face.

 

When she was done, he yelled, "BRING IT UP!"

 

Misty was about to stop him when she saw the beautiful green bookcase she had seen at Macy's. Her eyes were wide with disbelief as the whole bookcase came into view.

 

"Where would you want it Ma'am?" the movers questioned as they carried the bookcase into her living room.

 

"Just here will do," she gestured to the spot her old bookcase stood, "thank ya'"

 

###

 

"AMELIE DON'T CALL CORDELIA" Misty yelled the minute the men had left, 

"But I already..." Amelie said, phone still to her ear as she collided into Misty who had ran into the bedroom to stop her daughter. 

 

"I see the bookcase arrived today," a warm voice came from the kitchen.

 

"Where did'ya come from?"

 

"Home?" Cordelia smirked, walking over to admire the bookcase with the other two blondes.

 

"So? Do you like your present, baby?" the endearment slipping from the shorter blondes mouth before she could stop it. Her cheeks flushed furiously when she realised what had happened, and she let her head hang low in embarrassment.

 

Misty recognised the discomfort in Cordelia and put her hand under Cordelia's chin, raising it up to meet her eyes.

 

"I love it, baby. And I love ya'."

 

"You do?" Cordelia whispered in a hopeful voice.

 

"I do."

 

"In that case… Will you go on a date with me?"

 

Cordelia was answered with a kiss from Misty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hohoho mainly fluff in this chapter! Hope you guys liked it! For those who didn't quite understand the ending, basically Cordelia and Misty are officially dating now. That doesn't mean they are girlfriends yet though! That will come soon, I promise.


	7. In Which, We Have Two Moms

Misty Day found herself at Cordelia's luxury apartment more times in the next two months than in her own, being there directly after picking her Amelie up and leaving only when the night had fallen. 

 

Each time, leaving became harder. Amelie wouldn't want…  _ Scrap that. _ Even Misty didn't want to leave. 

 

They had been dating officially for the past two months now and were getting more and more comfortable with each other. Julienne and Amelie had also proclaimed themselves to be sisters in school now.

 

It was that evening at Cordelia's where the girl's laughter spilled all over the house. Cordelia and Misty had made themselves two cups of coffee and laid on the sofa that faced directly at the windows the Cajun loved. 

 

"Do ya' think snow will be comin' soon?" Misty asked, looking down at the older blonde who had her head rested on her laps. 

 

"Mist, it's only October. Snow won't come till December, baby." Cordelia said as she bobbed the younger woman's nose with her finger.

 

The Cajun scrunched her face up in response and then focussed her gaze on the windows again. "But don't they always say, vinter is komink!" Misty laughed at her own joke while Cordelia made an exaggerated eyeroll. 

 

"I just can't wait ta' spend Christmas with ya'" Misty admitted.

 

Cordelia's heart swelled at that comment. Her hand found the swamp witch's face and ran her hand down the strong jawline, down her neck and onto her waist before it found its way to the side of the Cajun's waist and it's tips grazed over the delicate flesh ever so slightly, and then she suddenly dug her index finger into the younger woman's hips, making the Cajun jump up. 

 

"Dee!"

 

"What?" Cordelia said defiantly in a mock british accent.

 

"Ya' are going to regret 'dis"

 

One minute the Cajun's lap was beneath her head, the next, it was straddling her over her waist, a mischievous grin forming. 

 

"NoooOOOooo" Cordelia whined but before she could beg, Misty's fingers have found her sides and were dancing around the length of it. Cordelia writhed underneath her as she let out an uncontrollable laughter. Misty found herself enjoying the moment and laughed along with the older woman.

 

"Stooop! Stop!!!!!! I promise I won't jab you again!" Cordelia begged, trying to catch her breath between giggles, her eyes watery from laughing so hard.

 

"Ya' promise ya' won't but ya' do it again anyway." The younger woman stated matter-of-factly and continued her sweet torture on the woman below her.

 

"I promise- I- won't!!" Cordelia begged again.

 

"Ya' sure?" The Cajun said with one eyebrow up.

 

"SURE" Cordelia almost yelled out.

 

Misty slowly released the grip she had on Cordelia between her thighs and allowed the woman to catch her breath for a moment. Other than the older woman's panting, the house was mostly quiet.

 

They found it weird that the girls had grown quiet.

 

Worried blue eyes seeked to meet bi-colored one. The worry was then transferred into the blue-brown ones before they turned to look at the door of Julienne's bedroom.

 

A few silent seconds passed as the two women grew even more troubled.

 

And then out came busting both girls, hand in hand as they made their way towards the adults, hardly keeping the cat in the bag.

 

They stood there in front of the two confused women in hushed whispers.

 

"No, you say it!"

 

"You said ya' would start!"

 

"No!"

 

"I ain't doin' it!"

 

"Okay girls… What is this…?" Cordelia finally said after they bickered back and forth.

 

The girls looked at each other before Julienne finally started,

 

"I… No… We… want to ask..." 

 

"If we could..."

 

"If I could call Miss Misty, Mom."

 

"And if I could call Miss Cordelia, Mom."

 

"But that would be so confusing because both of you would respond being called mom"

 

"So we came up with this thing..."

 

"We would like to call Miss Misty, Mama or Momma." Julienne smiled, looking at Amelie to continue.

 

"And Miss Cordelia, Mom or Mommy." Amelie finished.

 

Cordelia held her hands to cover a gasp escaping from her mouth. Misty on the other hand was just stunned beyond. Sure, there were a few times in the past two months when the girls' had called them that but it usually happened when they were perhaps down with a case of the flu or when they were just extremely sleepy.

 

But this was…  _ this was different. _

 

Neither Cordelia nor Misty had expected it to come so soon. But after all their children were at that age where people were accepted readily into their lives. And the women were just plain lucky to have been here at the right time to witness this miracle happening right before their eyes.

 

"And why would you both think of that…?" The older woman said as she recovered from the initial shock.

 

"'Cause we are sisters!" Amelie exclaimed, swinging her right arm over Julienne.

 

"And sisters should have mommies. Like everyone else at school!"

 

"Are ya' sure this ain't because Marcy said somethin'?" a firm accented voice interrupted.

 

"No it ain't Momma!" Amelie shot back.

 

"Yea it isn't Mama," Julienne parroted.

 

And a large smile emerged from both their faces. 

 

"If that is so… Why don't we make this official?" Cordelia said in the heat of the moment, feeling exceptionally proud until she felt her grin falter when she realised she had failed to ask Misty about it first.

 

But to her relief, the whole apartment erupted in a volcano of agreement.

 

"C'mere. We are family now."

 

"Family," Cordelia tested it on her lips like how she did with Misty's name when she first met her, "I like the sound of that."

 

"Does that mean Amy can stay here forever, Mama?" Julienne looked to Misty for permission. Misty smiled at that gesture.

 

"Yes, if Miss Cordelia will allow ya' sister ta' stay?" Misty fake pouted at Cordelia.

 

"That would be the easiest yes I have ever said"

 

###

 

Misty looked up to the sky. Tonight was one of those starless nights again. The full moon contrasted the deathly blue that was a sheet around the world, streets lamps illuminating their path. Misty was driving her newest gift from Cordelia. A black Lexus LX. 

 

Other than a car, which the older woman had insisted she get for Misty so they could safely get home in the dark of the night, which she now wouldn't need since they had just moved in, Cordelia had also gifted Misty of that beautiful vintage green bookcase she saw at Macy's, a couple of new school clothes and school supplies for Amelie.

 

Misty collected the items she needed before exiting the apartment as quickly as she came, taking one last look at it. She probably wouldn't see it for a bit. 

 

Returning to the chic apartment, Misty was surprised to find it dark except for candlelights that lit up the stairway to Cordelia's bedroom.

 

The younger woman followed the trail of lights up the stairs and into the beautiful suite that was a mixture of pale purple and beige. It was very classy, as were everything else about Cordelia who she spotted standing near the windows, back facing the door.

 

The Cajun sneaked up behind the older witch and slipped her hands around the thin waist. Cordelia swirled around and placed a delicate kiss on Misty's lips which was received and returned immediately by multiple pecks around her face.

 

"I can't believe it, Dee..."

 

"I can't either… But this I can…" and from her pocket, Cordelia pulled out a sapphire crystal necklace that glimmered under the candlelights, "the girls beat me to this but… Misty Day, will you be my girlfriend?"

 

"Ta' make it official?" Misty repeated Cordelia's words, a twinkle in her eyes.

 

"To make it official." Cordelia said firmly.

 

"Yes with all ma' heart, Dee."

 

Cordelia beamed and turned Misty around so she could put the necklace on for her.

 

Misty played with it, "It's beautiful...

 

"Just like you, Mist."

 

###

 

"Now the law insists you have to sleep on my bed."

 

"Ya' can't make me. Is that why ya' wanted ta' claim me as girlfriend? Jus' fo' ya' information, I ain't ya' wife yet so I ain't got no law ta' follow," Misty teased.

 

"Is that your subtle way of asking me to propose now?" the older woman joked back.

 

Cordelia's fingers laced into her lover's. Today had been the most magical day of her life. First the girls, now this. She felt a weight shift onto the bed. A tear slipped down her face sideways onto the pillow and she turned away to face the wall in a pathetic attempt to hide her crying face.

 

Misty saw Cordelia's shoulders rise up and down in uneven rhythms. 

 

"Why are ya' cryin'?" Misty asked, concerned as she flipped her lover back to face her.

 

Cordelia gasped at the sudden movement, not expecting the Cajun to be so strong as to flip her a 180 degrees.

 

"It's just… today was so..."

 

"It was amazin'."

 

Cordelia nodded her head before breaking into a full sob, resting her head in the crook of Misty's neck, tears seeping into Misty's white blouse making it sheer. Misty ran her hand through Cordelia's golden hair in an attempt to soothe her crying lover. 

 

After a couple of minutes, the sobs quietened down and Misty wiped away the tears that have fallen from those beautiful eyes.

 

"Turn ova'," Misty commanded.

 

Cordelia obliged and she felt Misty's body flush against her back, tight arms pulled her deeper into the snuggle.

 

This was the safest she had felt in a long time.

 

###

 

Cordelia had her personal lawyer come over to the house the next day which was a Saturday. All four blondes were excited when the intercom rang.

 

"Send him up!" Cordelia yelled from the kitchen intercom.

 

Mr Clair stood in a full smart suit as he exited the elevator. 

 

"Good morning ladies, and good morning to you two," he said ruffling the hairs of both the girls', "it's a good morning for all of us?"

 

"Yes it is, Fred! It's always nice to see you."

 

Fred Clair had been their family lawyer for many years now. He was first introduced to Cordelia via Hank but she had since grown her own friendly relationship with the wise lawyer. 

 

"Now, from what I hear, we are making a family today?"

 

Misty approached the dining table where her entire family was. 

 

"Okay so, I've prepared all the necessary documents. And you just have to sign here," he pointed to a blank spot, flipping the paper over, "and here, and here."

 

Misty hung herself over the seated Cordelia, peering over her shoulders at the papers. 

 

"ADOPTION PAPERS" it said. 

 

Misty's daze was broken by the lawyer who called her over to the seat opposite Cordelia with another set of papers.

 

"Same thing for you, Miss. Here, here and here." 

 

"And that will make it official?" Cordelia asked. 

 

"Yes. In all fifty states in the US. In the entire of the world in fact." Mr Clair stated. 

 

Misty looked at Cordelia who was biting her lips nervously. Her hand reached over the table to squeeze her lover's sending a signal of reassurance. Cordelia looked up at Misty, lip still between her teeth and a dizzy smile formed. 

 

"WAIT!" A shout came from the living room. 

 

All eyes were on Fiona as she entered the kitchen in a full black ensemble, her coat still hanging from her shoulders. 

 

Cordelia shot her a questioning look, wondering why she was here. 

 

"I can't miss this. Delia's making a family."

 

"Right... Mother... Why are you really here?"

 

"Never mind that. Just continue." Fiona said, unwilling to explain that it was because she knew since Hank had betrayed her daughter, Cordelia had always had trust issues. That was till she met Misty, who was probably just perfect in every way. Fiona secretly prayed that this would end well for her daughter.  

 

With that, the lawyer brandished two gold tipped fountain pens and slid them to the women who subsequently took them and signed their names on the necessary pages. 

 

"And... that makes you guys a family! Congratulations to you both, especially you, Cords. I know how long you've wanted this."

 

Misty pushed her chair away and made her way back around the table and lifted the shorter blonde from her seat in bridal fashion, cradling her between her arms like a baby. 

 

Cordelia let out a scream and then sweet laughter followed behind. 

 

"Put me down!!!"

 

"Nah, I like ya' here."

 

Fiona felt a smile slipping from her lips as she looked at how happy her daughter was. They weren't even getting married. That day would be nothing less of  _ magical.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit is about to get real, y'all. Happy reading!


	8. In Which, We Visit Hawaii

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Reading!

"WE ARE IN HAWAIIIIIII" Amy exclaimed in Misty's arms as they stepped into the resort. 

 

It was finally Fall break for the girls and Cordelia took the opportunity to bring her new found family for the vacation of their lives. She had booked them tickets to Hawaii where neither Misty nor Cordelia nor the girls had been. 

 

"Yea, sweet pea," Cordelia whispered into Amelie's ear as she planted a soft kiss onto her daughter's temple. 

 

Their family looked like one of those happy families in picture frames. The girls were dressed in matching overalls, sandals and a sun hat to top it off. Cordelia had sunglasses sitting atop her nose, and she donned a floral print button up with white khaki shorts. The Cajun on the other hand had navy cargo shorts on with a yellow tank top that matched her messy curls tied behind her head, with a cap to protect her from the sun.

 

Julienne was sitting on one of their luggages as the women checked in to their hotel for the week.

 

"My gosh! Are you a family?" gushed the hotel receptionist, "Your girls are so cute!"

 

"Ya' bet," Misty bragged as she pecked her lover on the lips.

 

###

 

"Holy shit!" Julienne cheered as she entered their suite.

 

"LANGUAGE!" Misty shouted while her lover simply shook her head. The both of them had no idea where the girls had picked up such foul language and were both quite displeased with it.

 

It was an open concept suite so the living room, kitchen and dining area were all in one big room that led out to a balcony overlooking the beach below. There were two bedrooms, the first had a four post bed in the middle while the other had two single beds. The general theme of the suite was wood and it had off-white walls and it's decor was completed with multiple traditional paintings. 

 

Both Misty and Cordelia grunted as they pushed the single bed together to form one big "princess bed" as per requested by their daughters. 

 

With the excuse that they were planning a top secret princess tea party, their daughters had sent Misty and Cordelia back to the other room which sat across.

 

"Girls be girls..." Cordelia sighed as she slumped into the california king. Misty rolled onto the bed as well but was now standing on her two feet atop the bed.

 

"What are you..." The older woman said, eyes running the length of the Cajun's body but before their eyes could meet, she felt herself bounce on the bed.

 

"HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WANTING TO DO THIS?" Cordelia managed to get out as the younger woman jumped up and down on the bed, causing her to flop all over.

 

"For a very long time, Dee" the Cajun snickered.

 

###

 

The first few days were spent frolicking in the clear ocean. But by the fourth day, Cordelia had retreated to a deck chair further up the beach and laid there ordering drink after drink while looking at Misty build sand castles with the girls.

 

Now, it was already the sixth and final day here. They would be flying off early next morning. The girls had found some new friends that were their age and were now currently scavenging for seashells. Misty on the other hand was changing into her swimsuit and had left Cordelia alone.

 

"Mommy! Look at this!" Julienne yelled in the direction of Cordelia's deck chair that sat under a large umbrella. 

 

Cordelia raised her head a little, not quite looking and gave a thumbs up to her daughter, hoping it was enough to appease their need for attention. She just wanted some peace and quiet for 10 seconds as an adult… She found herself sighing inwardly as she heard tiny footsteps approaching her.

 

"Mom… Ya' got ta' look at this!" Amelie shrieked, tugging Julienne behind her. The older woman breathed out a heavy breath before removing her sunglasses to look at what her daughters had presented her with.

 

It wasn't some sort of seashell she was looking at. It was some kind of tropical crab they had caught and Cordelia's eyes widened with shock as her daughters held the crab dangerously close to her face.

 

"OH MY FUCKING GOD" Cordelia cursed, a bunch of expletives following behind as she scrambled to her feet, backing away from the two cheeky girls.

 

Now, she was running backwards at full speed as her daughters chased her around the hotel's private part of the beach until she crashed into someone.

 

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She apologized to the unknown figure, turning around to acknowledge him or her but she remained rooted in the ground when it was Misty who greeted her.

 

"Hey, Dee, whatcha' doin'? Havin' fun without me?" Misty said as she picked Cordelia up from the sand and brushed the small beads off.

 

"Mama!!!" the girls yelled synchronised and held up the reddish orange crab for the younger woman to see.

 

"Aww sweet, why don't ya' go catch some more crabs for mama?" Misty replied casually, as a stunned Cordelia continued staring at her girlfriend's toned body.

 

Even though they had been dating now for sometime now, their relationship had never quite went past kissing and cuddling yet as Misty had told the older woman she wanted to take it slow. So, when she saw that Misty was dressed in a beautiful bikini that showed off her toned body, she couldn't help but feel her jaw drop.

 

"Where has the bikini been this whole time? Why has it only appeared on the last day of our vacation?" Cordelia marvelled, questioning whether this was real.

 

"Ya' dirty girl," Misty remarked, "can't wait to take advantage of me?"

 

Cordelia felt the tips of her ears grow dark with embarrassment and then a soft hand dipping under the fabric of her two piece sun outfit, caressing her bare back. It sent chills down her spine and a funny feeling in the bottom of her heart.

 

The older woman's mouth caught a lower lip between her teeth and bit down on it, causing a whimper to escape from the captive mouth.

 

Wandering hands found their way to one of Cordelia's butt cheeks and she felt a hard but gentle squeeze from above the fabric.

 

"MOM! Ew!" the children exclaimed as they returned from their crab catching trip, causing both women to break apart and flush under the hot sun.

 

"Get a room, Moms!" Julienne commented as she put her hand in her bucket to fish out another crab.

 

###

 

The whole family spent a few more hours at the beach before retreating back into their hotel, done for the day. 

 

The girls had managed to wear themselves out and both fallen asleep in their mother's arms as they carried them back.

 

"Well, today was eventful." Cordelia chatted, exiting her daughters' room and closing the door behind her.

 

The taller blonde sauntered over to her lover who had settled onto the couch in their living area and passed her a glass of red wine she had poured earlier.

 

It was silent for a moment as the both of them sipped on their wine, sitting side by side, gaze focussed on the view of the ocean, ears perked up listening to the sound of waves crashing onto rocks somewhere not so far away.

 

It was finally Misty who made a move first, her hand running up the length of Cordelia's thighs as she scooted closer to her lover, making the gap between them impossibly small.

 

Cordelia took the signal and turned her body towards the Cajun while getting her hands tangled in the wispy golden mane.

 

The both of their bodies were in sync now, each craving for the touch of the other which left trails of fire burning where their skin touched.

 

In the heat of the passion, Cordelia panted, "Are you sure you want this, Misty?"

 

"Yes..." Misty breathed out as she nibbled on Cordelia's ears.

 

The both of them stood up and stumbled their way to the bedroom, bumping into walls and furniture on their way day. Cordelia's rear end hit the side of the bed and she lost her balance, causing her to fall backwards onto the bed, Misty crashing down on top of her.

 

Cordelia moved her hand to tug off Misty's skimpy top and set her breasts free, enveloping a nipple in her warm wet mouth. Misty moaned loudly before yanking off the rest of Cordelia's sun dress, leaving them both stark naked except for their underwear.

 

The both of them paused to admire each other.

 

"I don't know how to continue from here..." Misty admitted, lowering her weight onto Cordelia. She honestly didn't know if she COULD continue from her. 

 

"Then let me show you," was said as the experienced woman flipped over, Misty now beneath here.

 

Misty's breath hitched. The first flashback hit her like a bullet train.

 

Cordelia took her panties off, and slipped the Cajun's one off, discarding them in a corner of the room to be long forgotten.

 

Misty took a deep breath again as Cordelia slipped a hand between the Cajun's wet folds, seeking for a particular bud that would make her jump.

 

The swamp witch closed her eyes.  _ Breathe. Breathe.  _

 

Cordelia was too caught up with herself to notice that the woman below her had grown awfully quiet.

 

"Mist, you're enjoying this, aren't you?" Cordelia said, as Misty’s hips went stiff from fear against her hands.

 

The younger blonde gave a forced nod and the older woman smiled, mistaking Misty's uneasiness for first time nerves. Cordelia slipped a finger into her lover.

 

_ Enjoying this. Cordelia's words rang throughout her mind. Enjoying this. _

 

_ Enjoying this. _

 

_ Enjoying this. _

 

The sweet voice slowly morphed into a terrifying grunt.

 

Cordelia's face grew a beard and her golden silky hair became a mess of grey colour chia pet, that sat atop an ever growing old face. A stink became overwhelming familiar as Misty slipped into her flashback.

 

His grunts became more apparent as he slammed himself repeatedly into Misty's lifeless body. 

 

"Stop..." she cried, her curls sticking to her face which was wet from tears.

 

"Aren't ya' enjoyin' this, ya' filthy witch." the man muttered in a southern drawl as he coughed and spat onto her face. 

 

And with one last grunt, Misty felt his seed spill into her womb, coating it in it's entirety. He pulled himself out and continued to jerk off himself on her stomach before redressing her in that yellow sun dress she had been dragged in, it's color already faded.

 

"She's all yours now," the man growled as he passed her off to another man who lifted the hem of her dress, exposing her privates again. The initial shock had washed over and now she was just fighting for her life, thrashing around.

 

"Baby, baby!" Cordelia called out in a strained voice as she wrapped her hands around her lover who was in some sort of trance. And even though she had ensured her visions were shut off, her world fell into Misty’s swampy home as she saw Misty getting raped again and again by filthy old men before getting burnt at the stake.

 

"Misty Day!" Cordelia tried again, now uncaring whether she woke anyone up as she tried shaking her lover from the flashback.

 

In desperation, Cordelia slapped Misty across the face.

 

That seemed to do it. Misty snapped back into reality, and her first reflex was to cover her body with the duvet covers, hand to her cheek.

 

"Mommy?" a sleepy voice came from the other side of the door.

 

"Coming!" Cordelia shouted back as she scrambled to get her hand through the bathrobe, fastening it around her slender waist.

 

When she opened the door, she found her two tiny blondes standing in their pajamas, Julienne sucking on her thumb while Amelie rubbed her eyes.

 

"We heard shouting..." Amelie stated sleepily, looking to her new mother for an explanation.

 

"Oh, honey, everything is okay now. You two go back to sleep?"

 

"Okay..." Amelie accepted, seeing as her mother looked alright now.

 

The older witch closed the door and trained her eyes on the swamp witch who was now huddled up, back pressed against the headboard.

 

Cordelia opened her mouth, but finding no words, closed them again before sliding herself onto the bed, sitting cross legged opposite the Cajun.

 

She bit on her lip nervously, unsure of what to say to the traumatized wild blonde, whose hair was now going all places.

 

To her surprise, the wild blonde spoke up first.

 

"I… Dee… I'm sorry. I thought… I thought I was ready."

 

"I should be the one saying sorry. I knew and yet I..."

 

"Ya' knew?"

 

"I had a vision of it a few months back. But it was your past and I didn't want to pry on it. It was a suppressed memory so I could only get a glimpse. I wasn't sure what was happening but I had another more intense vision just now. You don't have to explain, baby. I know everything now. I am so sorry..." 

 

Misty felt a breath she didn't know she had been holding escape from her lips and she sent an apologetic glance towards her lover.

 

Cordelia stood up and walked over to the bathroom to get ahold of the other bathrobe, throwing it in Misty's direction and the Cajun put it on in a beat.

 

The older woman slid into the duvet covers next to her lover and the Cajun gripped her hand tightly, unwilling to let go.

 

"It was awful, Dee."

 

"I know, baby… I know..."

 

"Why did it have to be me?" The Cajun looked at Cordelia with tears in her eyes.

 

"I don't know, Misty but you're here now, and you're safe now."

  
"I want to forget, but I don't think I ever can."


	9. In Which, Misty Lets Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Reading!!

The next day came in a snap and it was time for them to leave for home.

 

Misty was now back to her normal bubbly self with the girls. She found herself having a sudden burst of energy, lifting Julienne piggy back style while Amelie was sitting on her hip.

 

Cordelia couldn't help but whip out her phone to snap a picture of the girls hanging off Misty like chimpanzees on a tree as they entered the airport, Cordelia lugging both suitcases behind her.

 

But as they buckled the girls into their seats for the long flight back to the city, Misty avoided eye contact with the older woman, even flinching when Cordelia squeezed her shoulders.

 

Settling into their seats, Cordelia couldn't help but not understand why Misty was suddenly so distant from her.

 

She gripped tightly onto her lover's hands that was positioned between the arm rest of their seats.

 

"Hey… Do you want to talk?"

 

"Nah, all's right." Misty breathed heavily.

 

"You sure? It doesn't seem like it to me."

 

The younger blonde shut her eyes silently, not replying the concerned blonde that sat next to her.

 

Cordelia figured Misty just needed sometime to process last night so she sank back into her seat, hoping that her lover would be ready to talk about it soon.

 

###

 

Since it was a morning flight, the flight attendants came midway through the 10 hour trip to serve out lunch.

 

"Miss, would you prefer salmon or seafood pasta?"

 

"Salmon," Cordelia looked a the younger blonde receiving a nod, "for the both of us. Could you get our daughters' pasta? Salmon is too messy."

 

"Sure, Miss, here is your salmon."

 

"Can ya' get me a glass of vodka ta'?" Misty sounded out, which startled Cordelia since she had been quiet since they last spoke four hours ago.

 

"Sure, Miss, here you go."

 

Misty received the alcohol from the young attendant.

 

"You don't drink hard liquor."

 

"I do now," Misty retorted as she gulped the entire glass down in one chug.

 

As the flight drew on, Cordelia tried multiple times to speak to Misty about what had happened last night but to no avail. Something was very wrong with Misty here.

 

Misty's mind was in a mess. After last night, would she ever have the courage to try out intimacy again? She knew she  _ couldn't _ and she knew Cordelia would accept it as it is. But that was just selfish of her. 

 

_ Was Cordelia better off without her? _

 

###

 

Fiona had called them a driver to pick them up at the airport which was a great decision since the girls were so cranky and tired due to the time zone changes and were throwing huge tantrums all the way home.

 

Dinner was steaming hot and ready by the time they got home, which Cordelia was eternally grateful for as it seemed to calm the girls down a little bit.

 

After dinner, Cordelia found herself alone with Misty again, the tension in the air ever growing.

 

Misty was deep in thought, looking out into the city skyline, the sun was setting into the horizon far beyond, turning each cloud a different shade of pink as the tiny brownstones casted long shadows that faded as each minute past.

 

_ Would Cordelia be better off without her? _

 

She turned around to meet teary bi-colored eyes.

 

"You are right in front of my eyes, yet why do I feel that you are so far away?" Cordelia whispered to herself.

 

"Just gimme some time, Dee. I need some time." Misty whispered back.

 

"But..."

 

"I needa process where we can go from here, Dee. Please… just please be patient."

 

That night, for the first time since they began dating, each kept to their own side of the bed.

 

###

 

For the next few days, Misty continued to give Cordelia the cold shoulder. 

 

"Misty, will you talk to me now?" Cordelia tried for what seemed like the millionth time.

 

The taller woman just turned her gaze towards her before looking back out at the windows again.

 

"If you won't," the shorter blonde said standing up, walking towards her estranged lover, "then at least talk to her."

 

She slid a piece of paper into Misty's hands before walking away.

 

_ Dr. Kristine Jude _

_ +1-(212)-894-4673 _

 

The paper in itself was self-explanatory. Cordelia wanted Misty to see a therapist.

 

Misty didn't need to. She had survived all 7 years with this trauma didn't she? Why would it be any different now? Was this Cordelia's subtle way of telling her that their relationship isn't at a place where she wanted it to be? 

 

_ Would Cordelia be better off without her? _

 

Cordelia was worried. Ever since Misty came back from the trip, she had been all weird and distant. Sure, their little session brought back some repressed memories but this was different.  _ Misty was trying to drift away on purpose.  _

 

###

 

The rest of the week passed in a blink of an eye and nothing about Misty changed.

 

She still kept to herself most of the time, going to work, returning back home, playing with the girls and then giving Cordelia the cold shoulder.

 

So after another week of silence passed, Cordelia decided she had enough of being treated like a transparent piece of glass.

 

She crossed her arms and stood in Misty's way as she was about to head off to work.

 

"Dee..." Misty breathed as she tried to go around the shorter blonde.

 

"No, Misty! You won't talk to me, hell, you won't even acknowledge my existence! What have I done to deserve this? And when are you going to see the therapist I told you about." Cordelia said.

 

"Dee… we can talk when I get home. I gotta work now." Misty muttered under her breath.

 

"No! Work shouldn't be on your mind right now. Recovering should be!"

 

"What d'ya mean I don't gotta have ma' mind on work? I gotta pay fo' Amelie's fees. Besides, recovery can wait-"

 

"I can pay for it. For Amelie's school fees, she is my daughter as much as she is yours and it's only right," Cordelia blurted out.

 

"No." Mist said firmly, "No, you don't get to do this."

 

"Do what? I am trying to help you, Misty."

 

"Do this. Treat me like some beggar-"

 

"I am not! I am just trying to help you Misty, you obviously need help and I'd much rather you spend that time at therapy than go to work!"

 

"No, Delia," Misty said with so much force Cordelia flinched.  _ Delia. _ What ever happened to Dee?

 

"Why not?!" Cordelia almost screamed, matching the tone the Cajun had used, hoping to understand what nonsense the younger woman was talking about. She simply wanted to help. Was that not allowed? Amelie was her daughter too! It's on the legal documents.

 

"Because, ya' don't get ta', Delia, and that is final." the taller woman growled.

 

"Then help me understand," the older blonde demanded.

 

Misty looked into pained blue-brown eyes that seeked explanation for the sudden outburst. 

 

Cordelia would never understand. She was never poor, she never had been. She never had to skip a meal. She never had her utilities cut off. Misty had spent the past six years, scrimping, saving, taking up odd jobs so she could send her daughter to this school and here Cordelia was, a million dollars in cash at her fingertips. They lived in very different worlds. Cordelia was born privileged and Misty was not, but that didn't mean Cordelia could undermine her ability of living by shoving wads of cash and gifts in her direction. Those were the luxuries she never wanted. She never asked for them. Cordelia was doing what she thought pleased Misty but in fact, Misty just wanted to live a simple life. A life where she had her daughter and her plants and her Stevie.

 

But no, Cordelia had to mess it up for her. In the past, she could only dream of having a working heater in the room through the winter but now Cordelia had dangled the carrot above her head. No, now… Now she not only wanted heated rooms. She wanted heated showers. Heated car seats. She wanted warm coats. That was no lifestyle for her. She was supposed to be content with a warm room! Where did all these luxuries come from? She had fallen in love with a woman, very much unattainable in her lifetime and now that woman was offering to give her everything. Scrap warm coats, this woman was willing to give her the newest designer coats directly from the runways.

 

_ Was Cordelia better off without her? No. Cordelia would still be Cordelia with or without her. She wouldn't be better of. Nothing would change. _

 

_ Cordelia was her tribe. But was she Cordelia's? _

 

She felt flames of fury flash through her eyes at this thought. Why was Cordelia doing this to her? What was she going to do when this woman fell out of love with her? It wouldn't only be her heart that was broken. No, her whole world was going to sink and Amelie, poor Amelie would have to go back to living that horrible life with her.

 

Tear glazed eyes refocused on bi-colored ones again before nonchalantly pushing her lover aside, as she marched the rest of the length to the elevator.

 

"You stop right there, Misty Day," the older blonde spoke in a ragged voice, trying to stop the tears from slipping down onto her cheeks. 

 

Misty stood there, unmoving, waiting to hear what else the shorter blonde had to say.

 

When silence greeted her, Misty walked right of that apartment, never looking back.

 

###

 

Cordelia stood at the same exact place where Misty had left her, staring dumbfoundedly at the elevator door, waiting for Misty to come running back to her but it didn't happen.

 

Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor in a sobbing  heap, hands rubbing bicolored eyes as they got redder by the second.

 

How could Misty just walk away like that? What did this mean for them?

 

###

 

Misty turned up at work looking like she had just been mobbed on the subway. Her tears were still fresh as she was engulfed in a hug by Kyle.

 

"Heyy, Mist… Looks like the news already got to you, huh?" Kyle said apologetically.

 

"What? What news?" Misty said between hiccups, pulling away to look at her friend.

 

"I'm joining the Armed Forces."

 

"WHAT?! Can this day get any worse?!" Misty bawled, crying into her friend's shoulder as another wave of sadness hit her.

 

"Wait… What happened?" Kyle asked again, realising that it wasn't the news of his departure that left his friend in tears.

 

"Jus'... Cordelia..."

 

"Oh, what did that woman do. I will punch her."

 

"No… I think… I think I need to leave her..."

 

"What why? You guys were doing so great."

 

Misty simply shook her head and nuzzled deeper into the broad shoulders of Kyle's, uncaring that her shift had long started.

 

###

 

Their manager had excused them from their shift when she was greeted with the sight of Misty's bawling, saying something like they should have sometime together before he leaves.

 

"So… When are ya' leavin'?"

 

"Two days from now." 

 

"Are ya' fuckin' kiddin' me right now? Why didn't ya' tell me earlier?"

 

"They just contacted me yesterday to say my application went through and I'm headed for South Carolina for MCRD in Lincoln Island in three days."

 

"So ya' just leave me here? Alone?"

 

"Mist… I thought you had Cordelia… I'm so sorry… And I really wanted to make something out of myself. Joining the Marines was the best option. You serve your country. It's really a glorious job. I didn't want to be a waiter my whole life."

 

"Yea, let's not talk 'bout her. And ya' are right. Ya' should go, Kyle. Imma' so proud of your decision." 

 

###

 

Misty returned home to her apartment which was now covered in a sheet of dust, causing her to let out a few sneezes as she navigated her way to the bedroom.

 

Cordelia and her were not working out… Kyle was joinin' the Marines… Joinin' the Marines...

 

_ And I really wanted to make something out of myself. Joining the Marines was the best option. You serve your country. It's really a glorious job. I didn't want to be a waiter my whole life. _

_ Joining the army… _

 

She picked up her phone and dialled for the boy.

 

### 

 

After talking some things over, Misty pulled out a pen and a few pieces of scrap paper, 

 

_ Dearest Cordelia, _

 

She felt her hand shake as she wrote those words. It was the tremor of fear. Of knowing she was leaving something so precious behind. It was the fear of the unknown and everything else between.

 

After biting the tip of her pen for a bit, the subsequent lines came flowing out in whispers as Misty finished up her letter.

 

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I'm sorry..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys like this chapter, I promise the wait for the next won't be too long!! Also, btw, if you guys are familiar with the US Marines, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot is actually in Parris Island, SC but since this is a fictional story, I changed the island, so yea!


	10. In Which, Cordelia's Heart Aches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Real short chapter to capture the poignancy of this scene. Hope you guys like this!

Cordelia sat up in her luxurious 1000 thread count sheets, rubbing her eyes.

 

Amelie was at the foot of her bed, tugging at her blanket.

 

"Yes, baby?" Cordelia said in a voice that was still thick with slumber. 

 

"Where's Mama?" Amelie asked innocently. 

 

The morning for the past two days have started like that. Ever since Misty left for work that day, she never came back to the penthouse. A taste of bitterness grew from within as Cordelia searched her soul for an excuse of the child's absent mother.

 

"Oh… Mama won't be back sometime soon..." she tried.

 

"Why?" felw back almost immediately from that angelic face.

 

"Uh… She has some important stuff to attend to dear, now why don't we go get ready for school, huh?" Cordelia said, changing the subject, not wanting to dwell on it.

 

Where the  _ hell _ was Misty anyway. Cordelia expected her to be back in about a day but she hadn't contacted the older woman since the quarrel and Cordelia couldn't help but miss her. 

 

Cordelia shoved her cell phone into a black prada bag and herded both girls out into the elevator. She was going to find that wild blonde, apologize and bring her back today.

 

###

 

The blonde woman had her straight hair up in a bun and was wrapped tightly in one of her newest trench coat. She pressed the doorbell before stepping back, waiting for the door to open. 

 

A minute passed.

 

"Misty? It's me. I know you're home because your car's parked downstairs."

 

_ Silence. _

 

"Misty… Come on… I'm sorry, okay? Will you just come out?"

 

_ Silence. _

 

Cordelia saw no choice but to transmutate herself into the apartment. She looked around for a bit before realising it was empty. No, empty was the wrong word. It was  _ cleaned out. _

 

She felt panic thump against her chest rapidly as shrill pitch began ringing in her ears and Cordelia repressed her emotions long enough to whip out her cellphone to dial for the Cajun, only to hear the familiar ringtone bounce off the same walls she faced. Stepping carefully into the bedroom, she found Misty's phone laying next to a letter, folded with crisped edges, and with sharp cursive handwriting, it wrote, "Cordelia."

 

"No, no, no," she whispered, "Misty… No… What have you done?" her voice cracking after every word, the lump in her throat growing with each second. Her fingers ghosted over her written name, hoping and praying that this was not it.

 

Flipping it open with shaky hands, Cordelia stared blankly at the paper.

 

_ Dearest Cordelia, _

 

_ I'd never thought there'd come a day where I will be writing this. _

 

Cordelia feels dizzy and weak, she begins to fall towards to floor when Fiona shows up out of nowhere. "Delia," she calls out in a heartbreaking yell, catching her daughter before she hits the ground.

 

She watches as her daughter breaks down into a sob that quakes throughout her whole body, slipping from her mother's grasp onto the floor, burying her head in her mother's thighs, gripping onto the fabric of the black dress like a child needing a mother's comfort.

 

_ Finding you was the second best thing that ever happened me. The first being Amelie's birth and I am leaving her to you too. Believe me when I say this hadn't come as an easy decision but I know, if she comes with me, she will only have the life before you to come back to everyday and I will not allow that. Where I have chosen to go, I cannot bring her, so please don't tell her that her Momma had abandoned her because that is the furthest thing from truth. I have seen first hand how much you love my daughter and I need you to promise me, you will continue loving her even when I am no longer by your side.  _

 

“Cordelia, you're okay. I promise. Just sit up.” Fiona says as she puts her hand on her daughter's back, running soothing circles up and down in a repetitive motion.

 

“I don’t think I can do this.” Cordelia's voice breaks along with all the strength she once held within her. 

 

“No. You are stronger than this. You want to let this overcome you? My daughter doesn't give up. She fights. She fought to overcome the betrayal her husband put her through, she fought for her daughter, hell, she fought for me. You are not giving up, Delia. You are not.”

 

_ Please, Dee, do not waste anymore time on me. The past three months have been nothing short of magical but our time is up. In truth, I cannot bring myself to face you anymore. I am not worth your time, but our daughters are. I have nothing to offer to you now, but I promise, when I make something out of myself, I will come back for you. But in the meantime if you find someone else, go for it. You will always fare better without me. Do not blame yourself for my departure. It was my choice and I accept the consequences that come with it.  _

 

Cordelia opens her eyes to meet the brown ones of her mother's who slowly turn into the blue ones she missed so much. She momentarily pictures the blonde going about writing this letter, the heavy steps, the crying. Cordelia screws her eyes shut, gasping for air as the poison of sadness coursed through her veins where magic used to be.

 

"Why does everyone leave me?" Cordelia's pained voice comes through.

 

_ Amelie and Julienne, they mean so much to me and when they grow up, I will probably be a hazy distant memory and they will probably wonder how I was really like. Was I nice? Bad? Kind? Amazin'? I am pretty sure I was amazin' but I am leaving the rest of the story to you so please, don't paint me as a villain. There is a box in the drawer of my bedside table and in there, I put a picture of me when I was teeny tiny. And a picture of me with Amelie in the hospital. And the last one is for you, a picture of our perfect family. _

 

Fiona wraps her hands tighter around her daughter as the final breakdown commences. 

 

"Delia, let it all out," Fiona breathed, resting her head on her daughter' s blonde hair as she too, screwed her eyes shut, a single tears sliding down her prominent cheekbone. Wispy hair from age blew in the wind that didn't exist.

 

_ There will come a day when I will seek you out again. But until then, read a good book and live life to your fullest. To quote Lin Manuel, love is love is love is love. And I love you. And Amelie. And Julienne.  _

 

Cordelia let out a loud cough, choking on her own sadness as the she felt her heart get butchered, her love taken away. This wasn't simple sadness. This was everything between disparity and bitterness. It was grief and heartache, it was the desperation that loomed closely behind. 

 

This was it. She had officially lost Misty. She thought she could only watch as her lover slipped away but now, now there was nothing to look at except the letter that was damp with tears now.

 

_ Forever and always.  _

 

_ I love you, _

_ Misty Day _

 

Everything was a void now.

  
The world went black.


	11. In Which, We See Them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Reading! Cordelia centric chapter.

(Six Months After, April)

 

_ I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America _ _ , _ _ and to the Republic for which it stands, one  _ _ N _ _ ation  _ _ under God _ _ , indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. _

 

Misty stood, hand raised in a proud salute as she pledged her allegiance to her country. Her usual curls were tied neatly in a tight crown braid beneath her sand colored  utility cap as she looked at the flag waving in the sky.

 

She had finally completed all of basic and infantry training. Private Misty Day was now officially sworn in as a Marine in the United States of America. Her eyes caught Kyle's blue ones from across the parade square and they each ran as fast as the wind, through the raining caps and into each other's arms.

 

Kyle, casually lifting his friend off the ground.

 

"Kyle, ya' are such a show off." Misty teased as he put her down again.

 

The past few months have been everything but normal. Most of the time, she felt herself almost forgetting her family back in the city. But she still felt a dull ache in her heart as she pulled a sandy family photo from her left breast pocket.

 

Through the rigorous training, she had grown significantly muscular as well. Her biceps bulged underneath the tight uniform short fold and boots wrapped around her calves for their dear lives. Her eyes glimmered with tears, knowing that her journey in the Marines was just about to start.

 

###

 

"Mommy? What's wrong with Amelie?" Julienne asked as she crunched on her Lucky Charms cereal, looking to her sister who was throwing a big tantrum on the floor.

 

Amelie had the worst of Misty's departure and with each day, her tantrums grew bigger. It started off as questions that Cordelia simply tried to brush off but when Amelie realised her birth mother was not coming back anytime soon, she went berserk as any child would.

 

Today however, the tantrum was bigger than ever.

 

"Amy dear..." Cordelia said as she picked up the screaming and crying child from the floor, placing her on the hip.

 

"Mama, I want Mama..." she cried pathetically.

 

"Mommy is here, mommy is here… shhhhh..." Cordelia tried to sooth the child as she pressed her cheek onto the side of her child's head. 

 

"Oh my god, Ames, you're burning up," her hand snaked up to press against the scorching heat of her child's forehead, "Julie, could you get mimi on the phone please?" 

 

Julie shuffled to the phone before pressing on the quick dial.

 

_ *ringing* _

 

"Yes, Delia?" the mother said through the phone as Cordelia continued pacing around the room, bouncing the wailing child up and down.

 

"Mother, Amelie is having a really high fever-"

 

"She's having a fever?" a shocked voice interrupted her.

 

"Yea, that's what I said, why?"

 

"Delia… I'll be right over."

 

True to her word, she was in the apartment within the next 5 minutes.

 

"What's wrong?" Cordelia asked as she passed the child to her mother's outstretched hands.

 

"This is quite bad… How long has this been going on?"

 

"I called when I realised. Wait aren't children supposed to get sick once in awhile, I don't see what's so bad about this…"

 

"Delia, have you forgotten? She's a healer. She's supposed to self heal. She's! Not! Supposed! To! Get! Sick!" the flustered older woman said as she carried the whimpering Amelie around the room in an effort to sooth her.

 

"We need to get her to the hospital," Cordelia decided in that split second. She felt her the hair on the back of her neck stand up and her blood boiled. Her daughter was acting out only because of one reason and that was Misty Day.  _ Misty Fucking Day. _

 

"Julienne, come on, you're not going to school today, your sister's sick," Cordelia called out to her mini-me as she packed her bag with her wallet, tissues and cell phone.

 

Julienne took her mother's hand and the four of them left for the parking lot.

 

###

 

"Are you the mother of Miss Amelie Goode-Day?" a nurse approached them at the Langone Medical Center.

 

"Yes, yes it's me."

 

"Your daughter is going to be fine, she was a bit dehydrated so the doctor would like to keep her here overnight on an IV to just monitor her and make sure her fever goes down too."

 

"O-okay, that's a relief," Cordelia said, sinking back into her waiting chair.

 

"Would you like to see her?"

 

Cordelia immediately shot up again, nodding her head vigorously as she reached to grab Julienne's arm, following the doctor to a private ward.

 

"Hi Mommy," a soft voice said as Cordelia placed her other daughter onto the hospital bed.

 

"Hi baby..." Cordelia whispered, a tiny smile appearing on her face, watching Julienne crawl towards Amelie who returned the tight hug her sister offered.

 

"Amelie, tell mimi, why haven't you been drinking your water?" Fiona's stern voice came from behind Cordelia as she marched into the room. Fiona had come to this conclusion after speaking with her good friend, Mrytle. All eyes turned on her.

 

"I have!" the meek voice defended but immediately retracted that statement when she saw Fiona's glare.

 

"I thought if I got sick… Momma would come see me..." Amelie corrected.

 

Cordelia's heart broke when she heard that.

 

"Oh… Sweetheart… Momma… She's got very important things to do now, okay? She'll come back soon. She'll be back soon, Mom promises, okay?"

 

"But you keep saying that, Mom! And Momma, she hasn't come back home in almost half a year now!" Julienne the wiser one, cut in at the sight of her sister tearing up. She never wanted to see her younger sister, even though just by a few months, sad.

 

"Baby… I promise she's going to be back soon..." 

 

"Pinky promise?"

 

"Pinky promise," Cordelia confirmed as her pinkies linked with each daughter but she knew deep down, it was a promise she could never keep.

 

###

 

While her daughters were distracted by whatever cartoon was on the TV set, Fiona and Cordelia stepped outside to have a word.

 

"How did you know Amelie wasn't taking her water?" the younger blonde daughter furrowed her eyebrows in deep thought, looking to her mother for an answer.

 

"I called for Mrytle and the both of us agreed that it wasn't possible for her to get sick unless she wanted to on purpose. The doctor said something about dehydration? I simply tried my luck," Fiona stated, not missing a beat.

 

"Oh..." Cordelia gulped as she recalled hearing her daughter's words.

 

_ I thought if I got sick… Momma would come see me… _

 

That sentence would haunt Cordelia forever.

 

"I'm… I'm such a bad mother..." Cordelia stated as she stared down at a corner, not looking at her own mother.

 

"Delia… No. You're everything but that. Misty had her reasons and now, she left her child to you because she felt that  _ you _ were capable of doing a good job, and you are. Stop belittling yourself, Cordelia. You've had that habit since you were young," Fiona stated factually.

 

"I just don't know what to do..." Cordelia said again, this time looking into her mother's hard eyes that softened at the look of the bicolored watery ones.

 

"Oh, Delia, Delia..." Fiona said, acknowledging her daughter's need for a hug as she engulfed her in a tight one.

 

###

 

Cordelia looked out from the hospital window that night, wondering where Misty was, whether she was looking at the same moon that was looming high in the pitch black sky tonight. 

 

From her wallet, she took out the photo of all four of them, her fingers ghosting over the wild blonde who looked so happy, Julienne on her shoulders while Cordelia held Amelie on her hips. 

 

_ I miss you so much. Where are you. _

 

She felt her eyes fill with tears as she thought about all the times she had hugged the wild blonde. She missed the way her hair shone in the evening sun and that spring in her step that never went away, even on bad days. 

 

She was angry and she was pissed at Misty. For leaving her daughter, for leaving her. For everything. Why did she have to be so  _ selfish _ .

 

Pressing her forehead against the cooling glass of the window, she imagined herself in Misty's arms again as her heavy breath fogged up the transparent barriers between their worlds. 

And she wished upon a star that Misty would be back soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway, I'm sad I'm not headed for Paleyfest rn. Sigh... So close yet so far?!


	12. In Which, Misty Calls Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Reading! Misty centric chapter.

(2 years later, May)

 

"Amy! Get your stuff ready! Your sister's recital starts in an hour and we got to get to the florist before that!" Cordelia yelled from upstairs.

 

"Yea, Mommy! I'm done," Amelie said, stepping out in a navy Kenzo sleeveless polo dress. Her complexion was much darker than it was two years ago since she started tennis lessons about a year and a half ago. Her messy hair was tied out of her face in two dutch braids that ran down to just beneath her collar bones.

 

Cordelia was wearing a black short sleeved jumpsuit and she had her hair in a ponytail at the back of her head, glasses resting atop her nose.

 

She had settled into the role of a single mother snugly now, juggling her time between getting Julienne to dance rehearsal, and getting her sister to tennis at the country club outside of town. And getting dinner on the table of course. Since that day, she had taken on cooking classes and she was proud to say now that she and her food were now finally at a good place where neither her mother nor her daughters would dread hearing, "Dinner's ready!"

 

"Hey, Ames so which one do you want to get for Julie? The white roses? Or the red ones," Cordelia asked as she eyed the tulips at the counter, wondering if she should get them for the empty vase at home.

 

"Red ones, 'cause me so romantic," Amelie drawled in a french accent, picking a couple of red roses and handing them to the florist.

 

"Oh my god. Amelie!" the mother of two laughed at her daughter's statement.

 

Handing her card over to the cashier, Cordelia spun around to look at the third grader who was almost the splitting image of Misty when she was younger. 

 

She couldn't help but think of the wild blonde. 

 

###

 

Staff Sergeant Misty trudged through the sandy deserts of Baghdad, trying to get from one base camp to another. 

 

Even though she had just been in the Marines for just a little over 2 years now, she had been for one tour, in Kuwait which lasted approximately 10 months and was stationed in Italy for quite a while. Now, she was back in Iraq for her second tour. Misty's name was known all over in the Armed Forces. In two short years, she managed to climb to the ranks of a E-4 Corporal.

 

"Trent! Come on, don't die in ma' hands!" the dead weight of her friend didn't respond. Their tank had went over a I.E.D. which exploded, causing their tank to flip over. Misty had used her power of resurgence to bring him back but he kept losing blood.

 

Her brain pounded against its protective skull, beads of perspiration and determination seeped out of her pores. The sweat seeped into her cuts, burning them every so often with a kind of searing pain that was not describable on a scale of 1-10.

 

Using superhuman strength, Misty lugged her friend, who was twice her weight, across the sandy dunes, hoping to find the medical check point not far from here.

 

###

 

The blonde woman bite on her nails as she waited for the doctor to clear her friend's injuries. 

 

"Corporal Day?" an army nurse said.

 

"Yes, Ma'am."

 

"He's asking for you."

 

Misty nodded before picking herself up from the waiting area and entered the other section of the makeshift hospital.

 

"Day, you've done it again," Trent's weak voice came through, greeting Misty with a fistbump from the bed.

 

"Trent, ya' gotta' stop tryna' get yourself killed! Next time, I'might jus' leave ya' fo' ya' death!" Misty said, a smile gracing her lips as she saw that he was fine.

 

"Misty," a yell came from behind and she was greeted by the now burly Kyle who hugged her so tightly she almost couldn't breath.

 

"I thought I lost you..." Kyle breathed, relieved that his friend was still alive and very much kicking.

 

"Ya' didn't. Imma' still here," Misty said and looked into his blue eyes.

 

They heard everyone clap around them, as if they had just earned a standing ovation from their "play". 

 

They were basically like the beckhams but friends version since everyone knew Misty swung the other way. Kyle was like a big protective brother to her.

 

"You have to get that treated, Mist," he said, looking all over at the small burns and cuts but pointing particularly to the gash at her knee that travelled down diagonally to her mid-calf.

 

"Nah, it's fine," she said, trying to get up before sitting back down in wincing as the initial shock worn off and the pain set in.

 

"Thinking twice about that now?" he smirked at his stubborn friend while calling the doctor over to look at her cuts.

 

###

 

Misty sat in the corner of her sparse room, which was basically a tent with two foldable chairs, a small table and a stiff bed. Her head felt dizzy with the amount of green. Green chairs, green tables, green bottled, green tent walls, green bed. She rubbed the sides of her temples, soothing her pounding head.

 

Dressed down in her half uniform, she felt the heat get to her anyway, the sweat seeping through her olive green undershirt.

 

Like her daughter, whom she hadn't seen in over two years now, she too had grown significantly tanner from being under the middle eastern sun. The Cajun smiled as she saw Kyle enter with a bottle that was sweating.

 

"Wow, where d'ya get 'da cold water?" her voice echoed in the bottle as she took a big mouthful.

 

"It's my pee," he said with so much conviction, Misty believed him for a second and spat the water out.

 

"Ya' mean your pee's cold?" Misty laughed as she took another sip of the refreshing plain water. 

 

Kyle laughed along, unfolding the chair and sitting on it. They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the state of serenity the tent was in. 

 

"Have you contacted her?" Kyle finally asked.

 

He didn't even have to say her name but Misty already knew he was talking about Cordelia.

 

"No," she looked away, ashamed.

 

"When?" he asked.

 

"Not yet, no, it's still too soon."

 

"Too soon? Misty! It's been two years and you almost died today. I'm sure as hell she's worried. You disappeared with just a note, leaving your daughter behind with her? No calls, no letters? If I knew it was going to be like that, I wouldn't have brought you along, Mist," he said in a tone of regret, the fact that they had a broken family was because he had planted the seed of thought in Misty.

 

"No, Kyle this ain't yer' fault, I  _ chose _ this, I chose to leave and besides, soon. I'll call 'em... Soon," she reiterated, looking at her friend. 

 

"Okay, just… Mist… You know I can't force you to do anything but I don't want you to regret, you know?You know better than anyone that you're leaving a lot behind, Misty. I don't have anyone but you have a whole family. You know how things are here, we might not live to see another day! If you die here, you have a lot to lose." he gestured wildly, hoping to convince the blonde.

 

"I know, Kyle, I know." Misty said in such a soft whisper, Kyle wasn't sure he heard it.

 

###

 

Misty got up from her bed, unable to sleep as her mind kept burning with what Kyle had said to her earlier today.

 

She checked the time on her watch.

 

_ 1:09 AM Baghdad, Iraq _

 

That would mean it was approximately 6:09 PM in the US EST.

 

Sand crushed under her boots as she made her way to the payphone in another tent not too far away. 

 

Carefully and slowly, she recalled and dialled in the unfamiliar home number she had shoved to the back of her brain.

 

_ *ringing* _

 

"Hello? Goode-Day residence, may I help you?" a sweet voice came through that Misty immediately recognised as Julienne's.

 

_ Goode-Day residence? _ Misty would've thought Cordelia drop her name but she didn't.

 

"Hiya, kid. Could ya' get your Mother?"

 

"Mommy! Some lady's asking for you," Julienne yelled while Misty grimaced as she held the phone away from her ear.

 

There was loud shuffling on Cordelia's end before another voice came through.

 

"Hi," Misty was startled by the child's voice. It was Amelie.

 

"Sorry 'bout that, we just got home from Julie's ballet recital. She has some homework to do and my Mommy's a bit busy with the cooking now, she'll talk to you in a bit. Are you in a rush, Miss?"

 

"Nah, nah… I can wait..." Misty stammered, unable to hold her cool when she heard her daughter's voice.

 

The line was silent for a moment as each party searched for something to talk about while waiting. Misty felt a lump rising in her throat as she held her voice back. There was so much she wanted to say, so much she wanted to ask. Her head hung low, breathing in deeply as she heard muffled talking on the other end of the phone.

 

"So… My mommy wants to ask if you're the salesperson because if you are, she wants me to tell you that whatever you are selling we either have it at home, have it but thrown it away, have it but it's lost or do not want it. So you gotta' hang up. That's what she said." 

 

"Oh, haha, no, I'm not tryna' sell ya' anything, Amelie," Misty laughed slightly, the edges of her mouth curving into a slight smile.

 

"Wait," the voice said, and Misty frowned.

 

"What is it?"

 

"How do you know my name?" the voice questioned.

 

"I… I… Uh… I'm yer' Mom's friend..." Misty fabricated, trying to cover herself up but she knew that her cover had been blown.

 

"Where did you get that accent from… It's the same one my Momma has," the voice said, a tinge of sadness in her voice. 

 

Misty didn't know how to reply to that. She swallowed in her now dry mouth, kicking sand, not replying as silence grew thick. 

 

And then the voice asked ever so softly in a hopeful tone, "Is that you... Momma?" 

 

"No," Misty snapped in breath, defenses up, ready to deflect any bullets that came her way but she simply received a defeated,

 

"Oh. I should've known. You sound quite like her. Sorry, Miss. I'll get my mom," 

 

Misty panicked. 

 

"Do ya' miss her, you're Momma, I mean, do you blame her?" Misty asked suddenly just as Amelie was about to call for her mother, her question in a jumbled mess.

 

"Yea, I do, Miss. I miss her very much. And no. My Mom says she had her reasons and besides, I know she will come back soon. I know she will," the sweet voice said with much certainty.

 

Misty felt her heart swell at her daughter's words and she sniffled, wiping her tears away with the long sleeved of her field uniform, turning the ones sandy color into a darker shade of brown as tear fell after tear. It was still. Misty pressed her ear into the phone, listening to the steady breathing of her daughter on the other end, like how she always did when they fell asleep in their old apartment. She missed her.

 

"Thanks Ames, can you go call your sister for dinner? I'll be there in a jiffy," a distant mature voice came through as Cordelia received the call from her daughter.

 

"Hello? Who is this?" the lisp so close to Misty's ear she could almost feel the breeze of Cordelia's voice.

 

Misty's breath hitched before it became erratic.

 

"Hello?"

 

"Hello? This better not be a prank call," Cordelia huffed, shouting to her daughter, "AMY! Who did she say she was?"

 

A muffled reply that Misty couldn't hear shouted back and Misty felt herself so overwhelmed by hearing their voices interact. It felt like she was just there, in the midst of their conversation. It was just like she was there. The floodgates opened, releasing a stream of new, fresh tears.

 

"Hello? I'm sorry, you're a… friend? Which one? And are you okay? You seem to be crying," the concerned voice came through, and for Misty, it felt like a soft caress on her cheek even though they were miles apart.

 

"I… I don't. I… I…." the deep distinct voice floated through the line.

 

"Hey, shhh, whoever you are, you're okay. You're going to be okay. You're okay. Should I call someone?"

 

"No..." Misty's raspy voice croaked as her emotions got the better of her again.

 

There was stillness on the end of the other line that was unlike any other and it was deafening. Misty was almost sure the older woman had hung up on her until she heard erratic breathing that matched hers in realisation that plagued the both of them.

 

"Misty?" the voice, now desperate, felt like hands that came through the receiver and strangled Misty who had her eyes screwed shut, tears running down her pale face in the middle of this stifling summer night. She took in another hitched breath.

 

"Dee..." she confirmed in a choked version of the old nickname before forcefully slamming the pay phone back down into its stand, falling to her knees as she bawled in a mess on the ground, Kyle sliding to his own knees in front of her, holding her weakened shoulders as she wringed each ounce of sadness out of her troubled soul.

 

_ You're going to be okay.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another sad ending. I promise the good is coming! Forgive me for the slow updates!


	13. In Which, They See Them: Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! Happy reading!

_ (6 years since, December) _

 

The once E-4 Corporal Day was now known as E-8 Master Sergeant Misty Day after multiple meritorious promotions.

 

Since that stifling summer night 4 years ago, Misty vowed never to call back home until she was ready to see them again. Her thoughts, however deep, had to stop when her ears picked up the first tunes of "Let it go!".

 

It was the first week of December, 3rd December to be exact. It was a date Misty could never forget. Kyle knew Misty was going to not be herself today so together with his bunch of dude friends brought Misty out for "beer" at the best place in town to get "beer", Walt Disney World. Misty at first resisted it, saying she wanted to spend time alone but when she heard that it wasn't "beers" they were headed for, she basically dragged everyone to the van, all still in their full uniform and held the driver at gunpoint all the way to Disneyland.

 

"Best fuckin' station ever you guys. Best, best, best!!" Misty cheered, fist pumping the air as the side of her eyes crinkled and her mouth moulded into a smile. All of them had just been transferred over from the station in San Diego to the sunny state of Florida for the past three months. They were to return to Baghdad a few days from now.

 

"Have you not been to DisneyWorld, Mist?" their leader, Major Christopher asked, patting Misty on the back.

 

"No Sir!" she saluted.

 

"Oh my god, DisneyWorld is only a required trip for every American citizen…?" Staff Sergeant Jonah said sarcastically only to be punched in the arm by Misty who then pretended to be belting out the chorus of Let it go. Gosh… This was going to be a long trip...

 

Being a rowdy bunch of soldiers, they cheered loudly at the sight of the ticket office being empty. 

 

"Hi, can we get 5 adult tickets and 1 child for that kid over there," Christopher joked, gesturing roughly with his calloused hands to Misty at the side who was dramatically reenacting the scene of Lion King with Zachery.

 

"Did I hear ya' say child?!" Misty called out to her higher up, even glaring at him a little bit.

 

"I'm sorry, Sir and Ma'am but our park is closed for a private function today," the lady at the counter said, looking especially apologetic as she scanned their uniforms up and down.

 

"Ya' gotta' be kiddin' me!" Misty huffed out.

 

"Oh… It's just our day off though… Do you think..." Christopher tried to bargain, hoping that the soldier thing might move the lady.

 

"Sir..." she started but Misty's pout really closed the deal as she said, "Okay, I can check with the organiser if you may."

 

###

 

_ Happy birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Amelie… Happy Birthday to you!!! _

 

"Make a wish, Ames!" Julie said as she watched her younger sister screw her eyes shut in concentration, her mouth muttering a couple of words before taking a deep breath to blow out all twelve candles on the Anna cake.

 

_ I wish Momma would come home. _

 

"Say cheese!" the professional photographer said to the group of about 20 girls as they huddled together in a tight hug over the cake.

 

"Mom and grandma want to get into the photo?" the photographer said, preparing to take another photo.

 

Cordelia and Fiona got into their positions on either side of Amelie who was in the center.

 

"One, two..." 

 

"Miss Goode?" Jerome, her assistant, shouted from the sidelines, causing the woman to glare at him as the camera clicked.

 

"Yes, what is it?" Cordelia said in an annoyed tone, as she pulled away from the group, earning groans from the girls who had their mega-watt smiles ready for the camera.

 

"Some people are requesting entry-"

 

"Jerome, I did not just go through all the trouble to book DisneyWorld for my child's birthday only to allow-"

 

"They're soldiers. About to be deployed in a few days, Miss."

 

"OH. Oh. Oh..." the blonde woman said in a more understanding tone, "How many?"

 

"Six of them. They promise to stay out of the party's sight." the assistant assured, as he pressed the phone closer to his ear.

 

"MOM! Hurry! The cake's melting!" a whine came through from the crowd, earning multiple agreements.

 

"Amy, the cake doesn't melt and yes, just let them in. Disney World is huge anyway. We can afford space for six soldiers to be more than honest. Just let them in." Cordelia confirmed as she walked backwards to the girls.

 

###

 

Cordelia had chosen to wear a casual outfit of jeans and a striped shirt in the 60°F weather, throwing on a short coat over it to protect her from the occasional gust of wind. Fiona had herself wrapped in Gucci while the girls chose matching Ralph Lauren shirts that had their initials embroidered on, navy pants and quilted vests for the party. Most of the other girls were dressed in long pants, some in plaid fashion while others opted for polo shirts. 

 

"Okay, now we can open the presents!" Cordelia exclaimed as the Mickey Mouse mascot lugged the birthday girl's presents in a red wagon, appearing from behind the castle.

 

The seventh grader squealed in excitement as she saw the mascots and princesses appear one by one, offering her more presents that flooded the already full table.

 

As Amelie was opening the presents, Cordelia whispered into her ear, "What did you wish for, baby?" 

 

"Mom… You ask that every year but you know wishes don't come true if I say them out loud!" Amy said, rolling her eyes dramatically continuing to rip out wrapping paper.

 

"Right, I forgot," Cordelia laughed, pressing a warm kiss onto her daughter's head as she looked on.

 

Amelie received a few new clothing items ranging from jackets to dresses, a couple of Nerf guns which Cordelia was pretty amused about. Fiona had gifted her with a beautiful new tennis racket that had her initials, AGD, on handle. Finally, she had come to the last present, which was Cordelia's.

 

She brought it up to her ears, listening closely as she shook the small box.

 

"Mom, it's tiny," Amelie said in a pout. 

 

"Trust me, it's tiny but it's mighty!" Cordelia said, laughing at her own rhyme.

 

Slowly, Amelie unwrapped the gift to reveal a plain box, still unimpressed. But her eyes glimmered as she opened the box to reveal an extravagant luxe lock necklace that was designed by Jillian Dempsey.

 

"Wow… Mom..."

 

"I hope you like it, and I have this" Cordelia smiled, pulling out her necklace from around her neck.

 

"Oh… Mom… This is..." her eyes shone with tears when she was greeted with a small but a small key at the end of her mother's necklace.

 

"Yay! Now you and I have the same necklace!" Julienne bragged as she too, pulled out her necklace from underneath her shirt, a gift from Cordelia as well.

 

Together, they placed their necklaces in a circle, admiring it for a while.

 

"I love you two so much."

 

"We love you too, Mom."

 

###

 

Misty gripped tightly onto Kyle's hand as they entered the famed theme park she heard so much about. Her thoughts however, were on her daughter whom she had promised to bring here all those many years ago.

 

_ "Mama! I wanna see 'da princess!" her five-year-old daughter said after watching beauty and the beast on the telly.  _

 

_ "Oh, Amy, Mama will save lots of money and we can go see 'em ya?" Misty replied, pulling her little girl onto her lap. _

 

_ "See more than one princessy? Is it princessland? Can I be one too?" _

 

_ "You're my princess, Ames and yes, we can see all of 'em baby, it's called DisneyWorld." _

 

Her mind was pulled away from the memory as Trent lifted her up and over his shoulder, carrying her fireman style as she hung from his shoulder.

 

"Trent!!!" she yelled out in shock.

 

"Is there a problem, Ma'am?" he mocked as all 6 pairs of combat boots stepped into the land of children and innocence. 

 

###

 

The girls had been given free reign over the park, without parental supervision, seeing as it was empty and they couldn't possibly get lost in the crowd that didn't exist.

 

Since the Soldiers had promised to stay out of the parties sight, they spent the entire afternoon going "undercover", putting their military skills to play in a joking manner as they dodged around the corners and into the different shophouses as the children walked down the street, unbeknownst of their presence.

 

But their cover was blown when,

 

"Hey Miss, will you come play with us?" a small tap on her shoulder startled Misty as she was shopping around the gift store for a souvenir. 

 

Misty looked at them questioningly before turning to look at Kyle and Trent who were still in the same section as her.

 

"What? Ya' want me ta' play with ya'?"

 

"Yeah, Amelie's mother said the mascots would play with us if we wanted to!" the unnamed girl spoke up, her friend nodding in agreement. 

 

The girls had mistaken the three of them to be the mascot soldiers from Toy Story. 

 

"I… Uh..." Misty gulped at the sound of her daughter's name.  _ It couldn't be. Could it? No. Impossible. Why would they be in Florida?  _

 

"Ya' said yer' friends name was Amelie?" 

 

"Misty, no, don't… It's not possible. Come on girls, what do you want to play?" Kyle said, not giving the girls a chance to reply to Misty's question as he already knew the answer. It was definitely not the one Misty wanted to hear. Or so he thought.

 

###

 

"I didn't know they had a female soldier in Toy Story?!" another girl yelled out to the group of soldiers and friends approaching them.

 

Honestly, Misty didn't even know there were soldiers in Toy Story but who cared right? Her mind never left the girl who mentioned Amelie. Could it be? Kyle said no. Ugh, it bugged her beyond anything just to know the answer but she honestly didn't know if she wanted to know the answer. So what if really was them? Could she return now? She was about to get deployed less than a week from now. God knows if she'll come back as a flag. 

 

All these thoughts buzzed through her head, causing a dull ache in her head as she walked towards the ladies washroom, the rest of the group were too occupied to notice that she was gone.

 

The sun was almost setting now, turning the sky into a flurry of orange and pink. Still dizzy with her thoughts, she found her way to a slight kerb by the washrooms, waiting for the dizzy spell to pass as she wrapped her brown pixeled coat around herself tighter.

 

### 

 

"Julie, Ames, why don't you go play with your friends there?" Cordelia said as she sent her daughter's in the direction of where their friends and the other soldiers were playing.

 

Major Christopher noticed her and immediately broke away from the group, running towards her and took the pleasure of extending his hand out for a handshake.

 

"Sorry, Ma'am, I know we promised to stay out-" he started, gesturing to the scene of that was before them. By now, most of the children had found their way to the 5 men who were happily playing on the rides with them like their own fathers. 

 

"No, no, it's fine, honestly. I am really thankful for men like you that serve the country. Really. Is it just the five of you? I heard there were six" Cordelia thanked, smiling to herself as she looked on at the children. A particular blonde soldier reminded her of someone but she couldn't pinpoint who exactly. He had the kind of surfer boy element attached to him. She turned her gaze away when Kyle awkwardly made eye contact with her.

 

"Well, Day is off somewhere… So… Those two are yours? Twins? I have two of my own, Jacob and Felix," Major Christopher turned as her said, looking to Amelie and Julienne. He couldn't help but find Amelie's features very similar to a certain soldier's...

 

"Day? That's a cute name. And yes, well, one is not mine, she's not mine," pointing to Amelie, "I mean, yes she's mine, but we're not blood related. Anyway birthday dinner is at the Hotel's ballroom. You and your friends are invited to join!" Cordelia smiled to herself. The name reminded her of Misty. Her precious Misty. 

 

 _I wonder what would be Day's last name… Funny, if her last name was Night, huh?_ She chuckled to herself at the thought of that. Little did Cordelia know that Major Christopher was actually referring to Day as a last name.

 

"Yes, Day, is quite cute, like your daughters, I gotta say. And no, no, I don't think-"

 

"I insist," the blonde mother said, placing her hand on his shoulder to show her sincerity.

 

###

 

Cordelia left the men and headed for the washroom that was just east of where they were standing.

 

As she approached the beige out-building, she could feel a force drawing her towards the back of the building. As she trudged around the grass, the view was clear of anyone but a lone soldier sitting by the kerb, her face buried in her knees.

 

Cordelia thought about what to do. Should she approach her? Or should she call for one of the other men to come? Would she feel uncomfortable? 

 

Nonetheless, she was surprised it was a lady. The soldier had her hair tied in two braids that were tucked neatly at the end. A gentle breeze came, catching onto some of the wispy golden flyaways that moved wildly. 

 

Her feet rustled in the grass even though she tried to quieten her steps. 

 

The closer she got, the more her heartstrings tugged, pulling and ripping apart her heart. The dull ache returned.

 

Another gentle breeze blew towards Cordelia who was now standing less than a feet away from the comrade, who was still unaware of her presence. With the gentle breeze came a comforting waft of Misty's scent that Cordelia had grown to forget. 

 

This couldn't be. No. She must be dreaming.

 

She shook her head, as well as the thoughts, descending down to sit next to the soldier whose face was still hidden in her knees.

 

She placed a comforting hand over the lady's shoulder, squeezing it tightly and then drawing soothing circles like how she always does when someone is crying.

 

Misty grew stiff with that motion as if someone had pricked her heart with a poisonous needle, unleashing all the good and bad memories, leaving her to be nothing but an empty vessel. She was reminded of Cordelia.

 

"Hey, what's wrong, Soldier... Day?" the familiar voice said, recalling what Christopher had said about her name being Day.

 

Cordelia was so close now. She was so close. 

 

Cordelia turned the soldier to meet her and pried at her hands which still covered the crying face. Misty released her face from her palms, turning to look at the kind hearted soul.

 

Blue eyes meet bicolored ones.

 

Both of them break away from the half embrace, withdrawing like a hand touching scorching water. There was bitterness. There was hatred. There was disgust.

 

There was longing. 

 

_ But was there still love? _

 

Everywhere went quiet and it was only the two of them in the sunset that intensified their pain. There was nothing to say. 

 

Misty felt her throat go dry, her heart was racing and she just wanted to curl into a small ball and roll away. Adrenalin coursed through both their veins but they were paralyzed with shock and horror. Cordelia felt a drop run down her cheek.

 

A minute passed and now their lungs were burning with the oxygen they couldn't take in as they stood like statues, haunting each other.

 

"Delia! There you are. Amelie and Julienne are- Misty?" turns out it was Fiona who said Misty's name first.

 

The three women stood rooted to the ground as if any movement could make this moment go away.

 

"Mist! You won't believe me! I think I just saw Miss- Goode..." Kyle voice faded as he watched the three women interact in the silence. It was a speech made of glass and other sharp objects, cutting through the overwhelming stillness that engulfed them like a blanket.

 

Apart from the lone tear, Cordelia's face remained emotionless as she took a step back, and then another one, before long, she was walking away at full speed in the direction of the hotel.

 

With Cordelia running away from here, she felt her eyes shift to the side as they glazed over with a shiny layer of fresh tears that threatened to fall. She was too sad to wail or cry out, so she stood there unmoving as her eyes did all the talking. 

 

Instead of following in the steps of her daughter, Fiona took a step forward to Misty, wiping off the stray tears that stained her beautiful face.

 

"Amy and J will be excited to see you," the woman in black said.

 

And it was that simple statement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this!


	14. In Which, They See Them: Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Reading!

Misty splashed the cold water onto her face, trying to calm her nerves. Fiona had suggested that Misty walk out with the second birthday cake during the dinner, which Misty at first rejected to but the older woman had reminded her that it was for her  _ daughter's _ birthday and whatever that was happening between Cordelia and herself should not be swaying her decision.

 

Kyle was standing right outside the bathroom, banging on the door.

 

"Misty, are you alright?"

 

"No, Kyle, quit on the banging and I'll be just fine," Misty snapped, swinging the door open angrily and stomped towards the hotel. 

 

"Geez, someone's angry. What happened to Day?" Trent asked.

 

"That was her girlfriend, ex, baby mama. I don't even know. It's complicated."

 

"That's THE Cordelia Goode for fuck sake, do you not recognise her."

 

"Are you saying Misty Day is rich?"

 

"I think so."

 

"Her girlfriend booked the whole of disneyland for her daughter. She's rich."

 

"Oh my god, is the one… That… Uhh.. Amelie? Was it Amelie? Was that her daughter because I swear to god they're carbon printed."

 

###

 

Fiona transmutated herself into Cordelia's suite who upon seeing her mother, turned away.

 

The mother of the woman took one look at the coffee table which had a bottle of wine but no glasses. It became obvious that Cordelia had drank straight from the bottle.

 

"Delia, where the hell have your manners gone," the older woman barked, putting the cork over the wine.

 

"Mother, I think you know why."

 

"I spoke to Misty, and she'll be there, at the party, she'll take your place and wheel the cake out."

 

"WHAT?! Mother-"

 

"Cordelia, this isn't about you. This is about the children. About Amelie. Did you know for the past 6 years, her only birthday wish has been to see her mother again?" Fiona explained, ignoring her daughter's plea.

 

The younger woman burst into an angry fit of tears as she took the glass of wine and smashed it against the floor.

 

"Cordelia Goode." her mother said sternly, disapproving of her daughter's berserk behavior. 

"You don't know anything! Misty fucking left me! She fucking left and now she just appears out of nowhere while I've been raising her daughter for the past 6 years! Fuck her! Fuck you for taking her side. Fuck you."

 

The words came out so abruptly, even Cordelia had no time to process them. She dug her nails into her scalp and let out an agonizing scream, pulling at her blonde strands. Her wails continued to get louder, only interrupted by her need to take in a sharp breath.

 

The crying was so raw, even Fiona was startled. 

 

Fiona walked over to her blonde daughter and stared hard into the watery bi-colored eyes.

 

"Delia, you… Misty, she- Misty had her reasons. Yes, she left you, but look at what she gave you. She gave you Amelie. And don't you dare tell me you love her only because you had no choice, okay? I saw you favour that girl over your own daughter at times. You were as much a mother to Julienne as you are to Amelie and you need to recognise that. Maybe the love between you and Misty have faded, whatever, big deal. Ya-da ya-da ya-da. But she is Amelie's mother nonetheless and you need to swallow that pride of yours, grit your teeth through it. For the girls."

 

"I still love her..."

 

"Then, my dear, all the more you should try to patch things up with her."

 

Cordelia looked at her mother, her eyes sending the message, "you really think so?"

 

And Fiona nodded. 

 

_ Mother knows best. _

 

###

 

Both their eyes went to the door when the doorbell went off endlessly.

 

Misty taped her knuckled impatiently on Cordelia's door, demanding to be let in. 

 

With a flick of Fiona's hand, the door opened.

 

The wild blonde came rushing in, both hands laced together as if in a prayer to seek forgiveness from Cordelia. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her deep-set eyes were glazed over in a shiny sheen of fresh tears.

 

"Dee, I'm sorry-" she started once she was roughly a feet away from her lover. 

 

"I… Misty..." Cordelia said, she wrapped an arm around the taller blonde's shoulders and pulled her close, gently rubbing her arm. Despite the heaviness in her stomach, it fluttered at the feeling of her body pressed against Misty's. The rough fabric of the sandy uniform rubbed against her bare arms as Misty reduced into sobs.

 

Fiona smiled at the sight and caught the cerulean blue eyes that seeked for an explanation for the sudden affection.

 

"I fixed her," she mouthed.

 

###

 

The soldier stood at the side entrance to the ballroom, awaiting for her cue to present her daughter with the best birthday present.

 

"I can't believe you never told us you were Cordelia Goode's girlfriend," Trent said, joining his nervous friend.

 

"What d'ya mean by that?" the wild blonde threw a questioning look to her fellow buddy.

 

"No, it's just THE Cordelia Goode, no big deal, I'm just going to keep it from my favourite buddies, and you Kyle. What the fuck, pal? You knew and you didn't tell us?" Trent threw a playful punch at the blonde man.

 

"It was complicated! Misty! Help me!" Kyle said, hands up in defense as he took a few steps back.

 

"Yea, nah. I'm good here," Misty turned to Kyle and said casually as Trent tackled his buddy down onto the floor in one swift move. 

 

A deep roaring laughter was let out by all of them and Misty felt a small lopsided smile form on her face. 

 

###

 

"Now can we have the birthday girl come to the front?" the guy in the Mickey Mouse suit announced.

 

That was Misty's cue.

 

The loud applause could be heard as Misty wheeled the tray in from behind, Amelie still unaware that her birthday wish was about to come true.

 

From Misty's place, she could see Julienne's face turn into one of shock and horror before it turned towards her other mother, Cordelia who signalled for her to go towards Misty, to confirm that this was all real.

 

"MOMMY!!!!" her shrill voice interrupted whatever Minnie was saying.

 

And she ran, as fast as her legs could carry her to the tall blonde clad in her uniform.

 

Amelie who still had her back facing Misty, could not see what her sister had saw, so instinctively, she felt her body whip around to face her birth mother.

 

Julienne had her tiny frame wrapped around Misty's body tightly as she picked her daughter up and into a bear hug.

 

Misty took the moment to take in her daughter's grown features. It had been six years. Six agonizing years.

 

Amelie fell to her knees in a heap, Cordelia barely catching her. The older mother steadied her daughter on those tiny limbs which then ran at full force towards her mother who had her hands already full with Julienne.

 

Misty silently thanked her rigorous training as she hoisted Amelie onto her waist as well.

 

Julienne was placing small kisses all over Misty's face while Amelie cried into her shoulder.

 

To give the two a minute, Cordelia emerged and picked Julienne over from Misty's arms. As much as she knew Misty loved her daughter, it was different for between Julie and Misty. She had only known Julienne for two months before she left. Cordelia had six years with Amelie. It was different yet all the same.

 

The little girl in Misty's arms pulled back and stared at her mother, her hands framing the wild blonde face. 

 

"Mom… Is this real?"

 

"It is, baby… It is..."

 

Misty's hands that were rough from combat graced over her daughter's sharp features that were exactly how she imagined them to be.

 

"Did anyone tell you that you both look exactly the same?" Trent finally interrupted the mother daughter pair.

 

"Have ya' seen Dee and Julie?" Misty chuckled, looking over at her lover who had her hands placed on her daughter's shoulder. 

 

It was true. Apart from the darker shade of blonde hair that resembled Fiona's, Julienne had blossomed into a mini Cordelia but her mannerism were much more like Misty's despite their little time together. 

 

Amelie on the other hand was a mini Cordelia in terms of her mannerisms but was an exact imprint of Misty. "It's unfair, ya' got Delia's accent," Misty pouted, realising that her daughter's accent was gone but who else was to be blamed than herself for being absent.

 

"It was you on the phone, wasn't it?"

 

"How did'ya know?"

 

"Mom was crying after."

 

Misty gave Cordelia a pained look and sniffled. 

 

###

 

The rest of the birthday party went off without a hitch and both girls couldn't leave Misty's side at all. Honestly, if you had asked Cordelia, she would've told you that even she couldn't let Misty out of her sight.

 

Everything felt so surreal, it was as if the past six years hadn't happened at all. 

 

Now, even back in the hotel room, Cordelia couldn't wipe that silly smile off of her face. Misty was forgiven, hell, she was more than forgiven.

 

After Misty had tucked the girls into bed, she joined Cordelia on the balcony that overlooked disneyworld. All of the lights were off but it was still a beautiful sight. 

 

All the memories from their previous trip flooded back to the taller blonde. Their time in Hawaii before everything went wrong, before she left her family behind. And she was about to do it again. 

 

Cordelia turned herself around and hugged Misty as tightly as she could, not wanting to let go for fear that she was going to be back in her bed, gasping for air as she woke up from yet another dream.

 

"I can't believe you're here," Cordelia breathed hazily, allowing herself to take in the other blonde's scent.

 

And for the first time since they met, Cordelia took a close look at Misty's face. It was different from the one she remembered all those years ago. The younger blonde had a tired look plastered on her face, her eyes looked like they have seen so much, and the sides of her eyes no longer crinkled in genuine happiness, the sides of her mouth no longer curled up so high, but her lips...

 

The older woman looked at them, and then to blue eyes who acknowledged what she was about to do.

 

Their breath quickened in unison.

 

And gently, but with passion, Cordelia's lips melted against Misty's. That kiss was the salvation of their romance. They were each the half that made the other whole, the Yin to the Yang, if I may. In an instant, the older woman had pulled away, tugging a lip and arched up into her lover's broad chest, moaning in the contact of body heat against her own, before she drew back into the plump lips. 

 

They both knew what was to come when Misty's labored breath fell upon her lover's neck as she sucked and bit tirelessly, leaving unforgiving marks as if to tell the world that she owned this woman. That this was her Cordelia and no other.

 

Cordelia felt her body go rigid with the sudden surprise when Misty dipped her hand behind in her blouse and onto her bare back. The cold hand sent trembles that shook her body and the euphoric warmth blossomed within her once more.

 

"Misty are you sure..."

 

"Dee, I… I want to try."

 

With all her might, Misty repressed the memory of her rape that came floating back as she removed each piece of her lover's garment. She locked it in a mental box and threw the keys far away, never to be retrieved again.

 

Both of them glancing up to the loft that held their sleeping daughters. Even though Fiona had offered to take them for tonight, the girls were reluctant to spend any more seconds apart from their other mother.

 

They knew they had to be quiet and Misty shuffled lifted Cordelia bridal style to the large grey couch that sat right in the middle of the room.

 

Cordelia fiddled with Misty's belt for a while before giving up. Misty easily removed it with one swift move, slipping out of her uniform.

 

And in the twilight room, they lock eyes for just a moment, just enough for them to feel safe with one another. Then Misty's all business, undoing Cordelia's jeans, pulling them off, kissing from toe upwards, slowly, slowly, slowly until her lingering breath reaches the older woman's inner thigh, her back arched in anticipation as to where her lover's fingers were about to reach.

 

The first moan of the night escaped the older blonde's mouth as her hips rocked to the movement of the delicate fingers that wandered all around her nether regions. Her thighs clamped shut when they graze slightly over her clitorous, drawing quick but small circles all around. 

 

Cordelia felt her stomach erupt in an array of butterflies as she peaked.

 

"Faster!" Cordelia moaned.

 

Misty drops kissed from Cordelia breasts all the way down to her stomach as she pumped in and out as fast as she could.

 

Her fingers dug into the sofa as she came undone, still writhing underneath the younger blonde who had a smirk on her face.

 

"Was that your first time ever?" Cordelia panted whilst flipping over to the top.

 

"Mmmm," the Cajun hummed as Cordelia had already begun to work, trailing her hands down the pale stomach. Each touch left Misty craving for more. The older blonde took a second to take in her lover's body before diving her head between the muscular thighs, lapping and biting lightly on the little mound that sat in between them.

 

She knew she ought to be gentle but her lust took over and she slammed two fingers deep into her lover, the sudden movement causing the Cajun to arch her back upwards in a futile effort to receive Cordelia. 

 

Misty's fingers laced into Cordelia's hair as she began pumping in a steady motion, quickening her pace as she felt her lover's impending orgasm.

 

"I'm almost…..." the Cajun drawled, eyes rolling backwards into her skull.

 

"Finish on me, baby," Cordelia commanded, giving no mercy of slowing down as an orgasm took over the younger blonde. 

 

"CORD-" the younger blonde shouted but she felt hands shoot up to cover her mouth, the rest of Cordelia's name coming out in a muffle.

 

"Mist! You'll wake the girls!" Cordelia said in a harsh whisper, looking up onto the loft. It wouldn't be too great if the girls woke up to see their mothers stark naked on top of each other. Her eyes shot back to Misty when she felt a tongue lick her fingers that were still over the wild blonde's mouth.

 

"Fuck, I taste good," Misty commented, uncaring of being judged.

 

"Oh my gosh, Misty! Since when were you so dirty!" 

 

"Since I joined the Marines." Misty said, kissing the top of Cordelia's forehead.

 

###

 

Cordelia traced her hands over the scar that ran down Misty's calf.

They were both dressed in bathrobes. Cordelia had brought her up to date about the household and now the wild blonde was telling her about everything, from her journey in boot camp, all the way to where she was today.

 

"Master Sergeant Misty Day." she tested on her lips.

 

"Yea..." Misty agreed.

 

"When were you going to come back?" she asked, turning to face the blonde. The sun was about to rise now and the sky was slowly turning from dark blue to orange. 

 

"Soon… Not yesterday, at least."

 

"Why?"

 

"......" Misty didn't know how to break the news to Cordelia. 

 

"You can tell me anything, Misty," the older woman prompted.

 

"I'm leaving in two days." the wild blonde blurted.

 

"What?"

 

The world turned into a blur, and so did all the sounds. The taste. The smell. Everything was just gone. Cordelia paused trying to hold back the strange feelings rumbling inside me but she couldn’t. Her chin trembled as if she were a small child. The weight of a hundred bags of cement fell on her shoulders as she crumbled once again. How was Misty… How could Misty leave after so much?

 

"You can't."

 

"I love you, Dee..." Misty said breathily but Cordelia was hearing none of it. 

 

One betrayal after another. Misty couldn't.

 

"No. I'm not losing you again." the older blonde looked at her lover exasperatedly. She was going to leave her? How? Why? A thousand questions buzzed through her mind. She backed away from Misty's embrace.

 

"It ain't da' same, Dee. I'll come back this time, I promise." Misty coaxed, trying her might to woo Cordelia back but she had quickly slipped out of Misty's grasping hand that snaked towards her thigh, yanking her entire body out of Misty's reach.

 

"You promised last time too, Misty! And what, I have to wait another 6 more fucking years? Misty! I don't have- I don't- You-"

 

Cordelia was at a loss of words. She panted heavily, wondering what was happening.

 

But two words eventually came out of Cordelia's mouth,

 

"Fuck  _ you. _ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. Now Misty has to leave for a deployment even though she just met Cordelia. Do you think Cordelia's heart is so big as to forgive Misty, AGAIN?


	15. In Which, Cordelia Cries and Misty Misses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Reading!

"Just get out, Misty," Cordelia sighed after staring blankly at the fireplace for ten minutes. The sun was now slightly above the horizon, signalling the start of a new day. Perhaps it was a foil to Cordelia's life, one that was going to continue without Misty.

 

"Dee, look, ya' can't-"

 

"Can't what? Can't cut you off? The girls will do fucking fine without you. You cut us off first, you motherfu- Just get out, get lost. I don't ever want to see you again," Cordelia's harsh words pour out, her anger simmering in her innards as she struggled to maintain her cool. Misty was on the verge of crying.

 

She stood there, looking at her unforgiving lover. 

 

"GET LOST!" Cordelia shouted at the unruly blonde. She no longer knew this Misty.

 

"Mommies! Don't fight!" a meek voice came from the stairs, both of them whipping their heads around to face their daughters who were now staring wide eyed at them.

 

"No, baby… We're not fighting, just…" Cordelia didn't know how to explain it to her daughters. She just gave a hard cold look to Misty, signalling for her to go.

 

"Mama has to go now, ya' know?" Misty said and quickly continued when she saw tears welling up in Amelie's eyes and Julienne's lower lip trembled, "but ya' can call me anytime, okay? We can facetime every single day if ya' like. Everyday."

 

"Go? You will be back tomorrow?" Amelie asked.

 

"Mommy has to leave for a place to fight for the country. You know Mommy is a Marine right? You know what's that right?" Cordelia explained further, waving for the girls to come nearer. Amelie proceeded to walk into Cordelia's arms instead of Misty's outstretched ones.

 

"Yea… Marines are soldiers. We learnt it in school! But it's not like last time? Will you come back this time?" Julienne asked.

 

"Definitely not like ta' last time, of course I will be back soon baby," Misty assured, of course it was not going to be like six years ago. Because this time, leaving would be a thousand times harder.

 

Cordelia scoffed.

 

###

 

Misty stood at the Marine hangar, awaiting for her flight that would bring her back to Baghdad. She stared into the distance, thinking back about the last two days. 

 

She brought both Amelie and Julienne out for ice cream. Conversation came at lengths about their school, and about Misty's combat experience in the Marines. They went to the local arcade and then all around Orlando to watch anything and everything. 

 

Both days, Cordelia was absent in their trips so Misty should not have been surprised when she only found her daughters bolted towards her, followed by their grandmother. But her heart ached. She had expected her Dee to at least come to send her off.

 

She bent down on one knee to receive the both of them.

 

"Mom, I'm gonna miss youuuuu," Julienne whined, clinging onto Misty while Amelie was just mostly silent.

 

"Listen, ya' two kiddos. Ya' can ALWAYS call ma' number, okay? I'm gonna miss ya' too." Misty assured, embracing the both of them.

 

"When will you be back?" Amy asked.

 

"18 months, Ames," Misty sighed.

 

The both of them silently nodded, Misty placing a kiss on each of their foreheads.

 

Misty looked to Fiona, seeking an answer for as to why Cordelia was not here.

 

"She jetted back yesterday morning together with the other parents and their children," Fiona explained, taking a long stride towards them, "Don't be too hard on yourself, she'll get over it."

 

Misty frowned. She wished Cordelia would have seen her one last time.

 

###

 

Cordelia took a large stride, her luggage in tow behind her as she made her way out of the airport and into her chauffeured car. 

 

She was slightly jet-lagged and cranky from the flight but other than that, she was fine, no, not fine. 

 

_ She was not fine. _

 

With each stride, her mind grew more resolute and her heart grew colder, as if the physical distance she had put between them was finally getting to her. She did the right thing, she assured herself. Misty was in the wrong. She would always be. That unruly blonde had broken her heart time and time again and this was not going to be the third time.

 

Even through her sunglasses, the sun hit her abruptly, burning deep into her soul as if her heart didn't pain enough. The clicking of her heels stopped at the sliding doors, half her body in the shining light as she squinted, her eyes blinded by the courageous sun that dared to glare at her. She willed herself to think of a future without Misty. 

 

And with each stride after, she held herself with more confidence she ever knew she had. She was Cordelia Goode, Vice President of her organisation, Multi-Millionaire and a widow. She didn't need a lover, she had her daughters. She was in-charge of her own body, mind and soul. She was everything everyone aspired to be.

 

To hell with Misty Day.

 

###

 

Misty raked her scalp, as the  C-130 lifted up and above, leaving Florida behind like a speck of dust that kept getting smaller and smaller. Her hands gripped tightly onto the strap of her rucksack, her eyes once again glazed over with tears as they departed for the unknown. 

 

Her cold hands dug into her left breast pocket where she always kept a photo of them. Her hands brushed each of their faces gently, their names fell like a silent prayer on her lips. It was then she realised there was something else in the pocket. 

 

She tilted her head to one side, pulling out a lux chain necklace with a key charm at the end. 

 

"What in ta'..." she questioned to herself.

 

"Aww, lovey dovey Cordelia gave you one too?" Trent asked, pulling the necklace from Misty's palm to inspect it.

 

"What do ya' mean? I just found it in ma' pocket."

 

"Oh, well, I saw the same exact one hanging off her neck at the party," Trent stated, "I think she left it for you."

 

And then Misty remembered, she had changed out of her uniform the day after they fought, wearing Cordelia's clothes to go out with her daughters. 

 

She reached out for the necklace, holding it between her fingers, imprinting the key pattern onto her thumb as she reminisced the good old time.  

 

That could very well be the last time she saw them.

 

###

 

_ 9 months later, August _

_ 0800 EDT, 1500 AST _

 

"Juls, tell your sister to get off the phone with your Mother please, she's going to be late for tennis practice," Cordelia shouted from the kitchen where she had been baking some cookies for later.

 

Her command fell upon deaf ears as the both of them were still happily chatting with Misty. 

 

The older woman took a side glance towards Misty's pixelated face in the iPad. She had not spoken the wild blonde since that fateful morning but she found herself catching glimpses of Misty on the screen, dressed in her olive undershirt, her voice floating around the house so often it felt as though she was still here.

 

"Girls, get off the phone please, we have to leave in 10 minutes, you can talk to your Mother later alright? At the country club." The older blonde's voice came through the receiver to Misty's iPhone.

 

The both of them looked up in the direction of the voice where Misty saw her lover, dressed in a white flowy sundress. 

 

Her eyes caught the bi-colored ones through the screen for a split second, before the older blonde looked away.

 

"Heya, Dee," Misty attempted but got no response.

 

"Girls, you need to get off facetime in 10 seconds, 10- 9- 8-" she started counting down, tapping her feet impatiently on the floor.

 

"OKay! Bye Momm-" the girls started but before they could complete their farewell, a distant whistling of a bomb could be heard.

 

Cordelia's head immediately turned to the iPad where Misty's blurred form was frozen in the spot. The connection, all of a sudden was bad now, but the voices kept coming through the speakers.

 

"Day! Get down!"

 

"FUCKKKK. Everyone, get down!"

 

"Where is Kyle? KYLE!"

 

Shouts were thrown everywhere as the soldiers scampered to safety. They were under enemy fire. Their base was under enemy fire.

 

There were gun sounds, a couple of other loud explosives.

 

Then a raspy whisper, "I love ya'"

 

And the line went dead silent.

 

###

 

Cordelia stood there, unsure of how to react to what had just happened.

 

"Can you- Uh- Get Mimi on the phone for me?" She gulped, looking to her daughters who were unsure of what had happened as well.

 

Fiona was on quick dial but she didn't pick up.

 

Cordelia felt the marble floor beneath her cave but perhaps, it was just her hallucination as her lungs began to scream for oxygen. She moved towards the sofa, steadying herself slightly as her knees threatened to give way.

 

"Delia, I'm in the middle of something, you ought to-" her mother picked up after the third dial.

 

"Mimi!" Both girls shouted, "Mom is acting weird."

 

Cordelia's breath became gasps and her thoughts were accelerating through her mind, in and out, in and out. The room suddenly starts to spin and she squats down in a futile effort to get away from the dizzy spell. What is happening, who, Misty, where is Misty, who to call, it's too late, where is Misty, darkness... Who should she call, Misty, darkness…… Creeping darkness…… Misty…… Where is the phone, who is speaking… Where is she… Darkness…… 

 

###

 

Misty stood in the middle of the wrecked place, slightly blinded from the white flashes and the chaos. The earth beneath her rocked with the shock waves from the bomb that was dropped lesss than a mile outside of their camp.

 

"Everybody gather up, we gotta move. NOW!" Christopher shouted.

 

Misty gathered up everything she could, and jumped onto the jeep that was awaiting them. Trent was by her side while Kyle was assigned to get on the helicopter.

 

"Misty, you alright?" Trent asked, patting Misty on the shoulder.

 

"I was on the phone with Dee an' da' girls," The wild blonde replied blankly. 

 

The jeep was now bouncing up and down on the sandy dunes, transporting them to the next nearest base camp for safety reasons. 

 

She struggled to keep her breathing in check from the shock of what had just happened. They all knew this could have happened and it did. It happened, right in front of her family. As she was staring into the horizon, the jeep bounced and hit something on the floor. 

 

She whipped her phone out, hoping to call her family, to assure them that she was alright. But the connection was already lost, her hand tapping on the screen as she bit her lip till small droplets appeared on it's surface.

 

BOOM!

 

A huge flame rose up from underground like an orange fist punching into the jeep, the fire so hot it ran through all spectrums of red. Shards from the jeep flew at them, cutting into their uniforms which then bled the same color of red.

 

They had rode over an IED and this time, there were no thick tank walls to protect them. The jeep must've flew a good 20 feet backwards.

 

There was the noise of glass and metal hitting each other, the howls of her fellow platoon mates. Everything was a blur until she succumbed to darkness.

 

Her head hit hard onto the floor.

 

###

 

Cordelia woke up to the sound of a machine beeping endlessly. For a moment, she thought she is back in her room, waking up from a terrible nightmare but her room isn't cream, it's a beautiful shade of violet.

 

"Delia? Delia?" Fiona fussed, moving to the side of the bed.

 

"Where..." her voice came out cracked.

 

"Madison offered to take the girls, and you, my dear, do you know what happened?"

 

She looks around her surrounding and recognises that she was indeed in a hospital room. It was a light beige color, not worn down or anything, simply just plain and boring. Now, she understood why people brought flowers to hospitals.

 

"I had a panic attack… I can't really remember, Mother," she said softly, looking away from her mother's worried gaze.

 

"Yes, yes, you did. Do you want to talk about it?" 

 

Cordelia shook her head before suddenly shooting up from the bed. "Where's Misty?!" she questioned, realising that her panic attack was due to the phone call between Misty and the girls.

 

"Delia, calm down, I already contacted the headquarters about her. They will get back to us soon," Fiona said, pushing Cordelia by the shoulders back onto a fluffed pillow, "Now, you rest here and I don't want to see you move more than a step away from this bed, you heard me?"

 

Cordelia nodded silently, closing her eyes and wishing this was all just a terrible dream.

 

###

 

"What do you mean she's still MIA? …… I called six hours ago and she's still- …… DO YOUR FUCKING JOB …… Calm  _ down _ ?!! …… Don't be a fucking idiot …… Get me your superior," Fiona bellowed into the phone, "You will jolly well find Misty Day or this will be the end of you."

 

The stern woman huffed. From what she knew, Misty had moved away from the base on a jeep but in the middle of the trip to safe ground, the connection between the vehicles and the control center was compromised and now, the jeep was nowhere to be found. No one had any idea where Misty Day was.

 

###

 

The bitter wind was relentless, blowing wind and sand in a single direction, cutting and scraping against skin and metal.

 

Misty laid 10 feet away from the jeep, limp as a rag doll.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smooches, don't kill me for the ending!!!!


	16. In Which, They Reunite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Reading!

Cordelia held onto the key charm in her hand. She had enchanted both hers and Misty's' before carefully slipping it into the breast pocket of the wild blonde's uniform in hopes that she will always know where the Cajun was. 

 

"Mist, please, please," She prayed silently, pressing the charm into the palm of her hand, leaving a temporary redness around it.

 

_ Nothing. _

 

_ Was she dead? _

 

Cordelia almost choked on her tears. She blamed herself for holding onto the grudge for nine long months. Why hadn’t she forgiven Misty earlier?

 

“Cordelia, stop blaming yourself,” Fiona’s voice startled her.

 

“How can I not?” she looked down into her hands, her teeth holding onto her bottom lip. She glanced upwards to her mother who had her mouth open, as if she wanted to tell her something but couldn’t bring herself to.

 

“What? Is there news about Misty, yet?”

 

Her mother sighed, and her weight shifted onto the side of her bed.

 

“They haven’t gotten back to me. Do you need water?” she lied curtly, looking the other way to the bedside locker where the jug of water was. The real answer was simply too cruel. 

 

“What?” Cordelia said, completely ignoring her mother and swinging her legs too the side of the bed, ready to get up, “How can the army be so incompetent? I’m going to the Commandant’s office now.”

 

“Delia… Stop this… They will… Misty's alright… But...” Fiona said, looking directly into her daughter's mismatched eyes.

 

“What is it you’re not telling me, Mother?!” she yelled, fuming.

 

“Misty is… She's Missing In Action.”

 

Cordelia's mouth dropped. 

 

_ Missing In Action. _

 

Misty was better of dead. Was she kidnapped? Was she dead? Was she somewhere in the desert starving? Was trapped under something? Was she in a mass grave?

 

She looked to her mother for solace but there was none given. She let out a throat strangling scream and Fiona struggled to hold her back, to calm her even, and the mother found her own cheeks stained with tears too. People in the hospital hallway craned their necks in search of the source of the hysterics. There was nothing to be done. None at all.

 

###

 

Misty rested her hand on her bandaged head.

 

_ Where was she? _

 

“Miss? Do you know your name?” The nurse asked, jotting down something.

 

“Ugh…” she responded, everywhere hurt.

 

She was in a veteran hospital, somewhere southwest of Germany.

 

“Ma’ name is…” she trailed, searching all corners of her brain matter for her name but nothing was coming back to her.

 

“Miss? Doctor! The patient seems to be a bit confused.”

 

The female doctor came, flashing the flashlight thing in her eyes before she asked the same question, “Miss, do you know who you are?”

 

The Cajun could only manage a shake of her head, before she was wiping at the tears that couldn’t stop coming. Her blue colored eyes filled to the brim with shiny sheets of fresh tears, it's tracks down her cheeks cleared up the dusty dirt surround them.

 

“Miss, you don’t have to worry. I’m sure your name will come back to you soon," but that was a lie.

 

No one knew who she  _ was. _ There was no way of confirming her identity seeing that one, she had left her field pack in a rush and two, was only dressed in her undershirt when she arrived. 

 

Everyone called her  _ Jane Doe. _

 

And she was told that everyone she arrived with were dead to. She was almost sure she was dead too and that this was her hell where she knew no one and nothing.

 

She was trapped in a body she no longer recognised and there was no one left to help her recollect her memories.

 

###

 

_ (An agonising week passes) _

 

The wild blonde spent her time in the hospital loitering the halls, trying to kill time. So far, she had made a great friend, named Zoe who was a doctor stationed in this hospital. 

 

"Mornin' Docta' Zo," Misty greeted with a sweet smile as the doctor made her way round to Misty and helped tie the unruly curls into a thick french braid.

 

"Morning, Stevie," Zoe replied, tugging at the strands of gold, causing the wild blonde to wince in discomfort, her mouth in a perpetual frown, "How are you feeling today?"

 

"Better if ya' would stop pullin' ma' hair!" the Cajun pouted.

 

"Your hair is just too messy!" the brunette sighed, putting the neat braid over Misty's shoulder, "Have you remembered anything today?"

 

"No," Misty huffed firmly after two beats.

 

"Hm, don't give up, Stevie," Zoe said, looking at the wild blonde for any form of sadness and was surprised when she looked up and smiled.

 

"Hope ma' name's really Stevie," the blonde stated seriously.

 

And they looked at each other seriously, Zoe giving Misty a firm nod before their faces twisted into a smile and sweet laughter filled the room, lighting it up.

 

###

 

Misty was hooked onto an IV as she watched another man get rolled in. 

 

She had grown accustomed to having her left arm in a sling, and her hair ran wildly as she could not have it tied up until a kind-hearted nurse or doctor came to do it for her.

 

The man that was being wheeled in was covered in what seemed like his own blood but even through his blood stained teeth, a strangled word came through that was directed at her.

 

“Misty...”

 

###

 

She sat vigilant at his bedside, not leaving it even for a minute. What had the word he said mean? Misty? What was that? Was it a misty day today? She peered out. It was obviously sunny day outside, as usual.

 

Her brows furrowed at the weird word directly at her earlier. She stared on curiously like a little child as he began to wake from his slumber.

 

"Mist..." he breathed softly, as if he had lost her in the past lifetime.

 

She continued giving him a confused face.

 

"Misty? It's Kyle."

 

"Who are you?" she whispered, close to his ears slightly embarrassed she could not recognise this blonde man.

 

"Kyle Spencer?" he asked back, "Misty, do you not remember who I am?"

 

She shook her head vigorously, pouting slightly, "Is that ma' name? Misty? Doctor Zoe! Kyle here," she smiled, "Says ma' name is Misty."

 

"Is that so?" Zoe noted, signalling for a nurse to attend to them, "Do you know our Jane Doe, Sir?" 

 

"Yes, her uniform and dog tags are in the pack I came in with, and it's Kyle," Kyle gestured to his bag that was plonked at the foot of his bed.

 

"Oh, Kyle, what a delight!" she rummaged through the bag, finding a dog tag that indeed had her name and ID on, turning to Misty "Now we know someone who knows you, Misty… Day!"

 

"Misty Day? Dat's ma' name?" the unruly blonde let out a small laughter, "I had wished ma' name was Stevie!"

 

###

 

Cordelia was on her way to Germany almost immediately after she received the phone call that Misty had been found.

 

When she arrived, a helicopter brought her to the hospital where Misty laid.

 

Her knuckles drummed on the administration desk, awaiting for her green light after the verification that she was indeed Misty's girlfriend.

 

_ (Cordelia's flashback to the birthday party) _

 

_ The music spun around them like a web that encased all of their feelings for each other, wrapping tighter and tighter as their heels clicked around the hotel ballroom. Everyone around them had stopped to watch the dance of two lovers. _

 

_ It wasn't any kind of ballroom dancing. It honestly wasn't dancing at all but Cordelia had her arms around Misty's neck and Misty had hers over Cordelia's shoulder, bringing their faces so close to each other, their noses gracing the others. _

 

_ The waltzed back and forth in a steady rhythm to the ballad, warmth embracing them. _

 

_ This kind of dancing needed no teaching. There was no practice and no perfecting, just plain old steps, each filled to the brim with the others' heart, each step taken carelessly, knowing that they were safe.  _

 

_ All that mattered was she who was in front of her. _

 

_ (End of flashback) _

 

Her eyes landed blankly on the lady at the front desk, who was saying something that she couldn't exactly make out.

 

But she knew, in her heart, she knew where Misty was already.

 

###

 

"Ma'am I need you to understand that Miss Day is not exactly in the best state of her mind right now," Doctor Zoe instructed Cordelia, not wanting her to startle Misty.

 

"I know, thank you," Cordelia said half-heartedly. Nothing mattered now that Misty was alive. 

 

Zoe showed Cordelia into a room that was slightly run down, the wall paint was peeling, leaving the bare concrete walls to stare at her. Her gaze landed on the wild blonde, IV still attached to her arm that was free of the cast, her legs crossed on the chair as she twirled a strand of the dirty blonde hair between her fingers.

 

Cordelia's breath hitches. It had been such a long time.

 

"Misty," she whispered and the girl turned around to face her.

 

The wild blonde's blue eyes peirced mercilessly into mismatched ones and she gazed straight into Cordelia's soul, seeing things only Cordelia could dream of in dreams. The streaks of the sun ray's shone onto her hair, making it a magnificent blonde and Cordelia longed to reach out from it. To touch her. The older of the two continued to look into the ocean blue eyes, hoping for a glimpse of recognition. Just flashes. But what came out was only everything she had never hoped for.

 

"Ya' called me, Miss? Ya' new 'round here?"

 

And the blue eyes looked away.

 

###

 

Misty looked curiously at the two strange woman who entered her room and then to Zoe who was already leaving through the door. 

 

“Misty, it’s Cordelia?” One of the two spoke in a shaky exhale. And Misty's gaze shot back to the woman with the mismatched eyes.  _ God, she’s pretty. _

 

The woman reached a shaky hand out to touch her cheek, her thumb swiping up and down the sharp jawline.

 

“Misty… Do you… Not remember at all?” she breathed heavily, her nostrils flared slightly in anger, bending down to sit herself on the chair placed next to the wild blonde.

 

The strange woman fumbled through her wallet to pull out a couple of glossy photographs that contained some children and passed them to the Cajun, her eyes twinkling with hope.

 

As the images passed through from Misty’s left to right hand, and then back in a shuffling motion, the woman looked on anxiously, awaiting any form of recognition, any at all but that never came. The strange woman looked upset, her bottom lip quivering slightly. Misty just met her but she liked her already and she didn’t want to see her sad so in an effort to please the woman, the soldier’s index finger hovered over the little blonde that bore a large resemblance to her.

 

Misty looked to the woman, still pointing at the young girl, “This me? When I was teeny tiny? Ya’ have such good quality photographs, Miss Cordelia. Can’t re’ember da’ last time I was this small,” her mouth formed into signature lopsided smile.

 

“It’s Amelie, and Julienne.” the woman said, her head hanging low, a silent tear escaping the heavy eyelids from the jet lag. The other woman put her hand on the crying woman’s back, squeezing it slightly.

 

“Oh…” the names didn’t ring a bell at all but she continued, “Thank ya’, Miss, for the photos. Ya’ family looks perfect,” Misty aimed the conversation at the two women, alternating her gaze between them.

 

Misty watched as the woman’s eyebrows furrowed in deep concentration, pondering the next step before she looked up with the watery bi-colored eyes. The other blonde just stood there quietly.

 

Again, she felt bad that she was making the stranger woman cry, so she tried, “Ya’ eyes look real neat, Miss. Ya’ are so blessed. Mine are just such borin’ blue ya’know?”

 

“Misty…” the woman choked on her tears.

 

“Don’t be upset! Oh ma’… I didn’t mean ta’ make ya’ cry!” Misty pleaded, placing her hand on the woman’s shoulders that shook with the sob, her pretty face buried in the whitish palms.

 

“It’s me Cordelia, it’s Dee…”

 

“I don’t… I’m sorry… Dee?” the Cajun said, the woman’s nickname coming out in a questioning manner, “But I’m sure ya’ are someone I loved…”

 

Zoe came into the room to find the blonde woman crying slightly into the older woman and a very confused Misty. The doctor decided that visiting hours were up and shuffled the crying Cordelia out into the hallway to speak to her at length about Misty, leaving the Cajun to ponder about the strange woman.

 

“Dee…” Misty whispered thoughtfully but nothing came.

 

###

 

_ Misty has sustained a head injury when she was flung out of the jeep. It was a miracle that she lived, Miss Goode. _

 

Cordelia stared blankly at the walls of the hospital.

 

_ We were worried when she first came in, knowing that no one could identify her, nor did we have any means of doing so. Thankfully, a patient, probably a friend of hers named Kyle was admitted yesterday and he immediately recognised her, therefore we called you the minute it was confirmed. Even though she doesn't remember much, she's pretty fond of dancing to Fleetwood Mac music which she came across when one of the nurses was playing it. _

 

Fiona sat next to her, peering down at her vibrating phone but did not pick it up. Right now, it was about Misty and her daughter. Nothing else could be more important.

 

_ Unfortunately, it seems like she cannot remember anything beyond that. That including her daughter, and anytime she had in the city and before. It will definitely take a significant amount of patience and time before her memory comes back, if it does. It’s different in every patient. Some remember after a week, some after months. Some never remember.  _

 

A tear slid down Cordelia's face.

 

_ But don’t lose hope. Misty should be good to leave for home in about three days from now. You should show her around the city, to her old place, anywhere that can jog her memory. _

 

Cordelia rested her back onto the worn cool wall behind her, not caring that she was dirtying her white blouse. Her eyes were frozen over with tears that came too often within the last week, resting snugly in the space between her eyelids, threatening to spill if she blinked, so she held them open until the white parts of her eye turned four quarters red. And when she finally blinked, her nose sniffled in a futile effort to stop the droplets from gracing her cheeks once again but the pain was too much.

  
The pain was too much…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY!!! Finally reunited!!! Hope you guys liked this chapter!!!!


	17. In Which, Misty Has Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Reading!

After a teary goodbye from Kyle and Zoe, the three women were back at the airport now, waiting for their flight back.

 

_ (Cordelia's flashback to the Hawaii trip)  _

 

_ "DEE! First class is awesome...'' Misty pecked the older woman on the cheek, as she made her way to the booth positioned next to Cordelia's. _

 

_ The woman gave Misty a slight smile, pursing her lips together, as her cheek grew into a rosy blush. _

 

_ "Never thought I'd be flyin' first class ever," she admitted to Cordelia, "An' ma' seat's so big I miss ya' already. I'm lost in my seat!" The blonde head popped over the barrier between them, looking down at Cordelia. _

 

_ "Just go to sleep, Misty! We have 8 hours to go!" the older woman laughed. _

 

_ "Noooo..." she whined, sliding down into her seat-made-bed. _

 

_ Cordelia gave no response. _

 

_ Feeling slightly cheeky, the wild blonde popped her head over only to find her lover with her eyes closed. _

 

_ "Dee……..." she whispered again, before a quick thought overcame her. Using her prominent arm muscles, she hoisted herself and balanced her butt on the thin wall separating their seats, before promptly jumping down and onto the sleeping blonde below her who let out a strangled cry. _

 

_ "Mist. You could've killed-" but was cut off by a hard kiss landing on her mouth and suckled on her plump lips. _

 

_ (End of flashback) _

 

It was the same now, Misty stared wide eyed at the seats.

 

"Wow..." she managed, sitting in her seat that was laterally opposite Cordelia's this time. Her left hand was still snug in a blue sling which was to be on for the next four weeks or so.

 

"Why don't you get some sleep, huh?" Cordelia asked, helping Misty adjust her seat into a comfortable inclined position, "It's a long way back home."

 

"O-okay," the wild blonde smiled, running her hands through the thick weave that Cordelia suggested she had left untied, slightly overwhelmed.

 

And as her lover settled into her seat comfortably, the older woman couldn't help but pray and hope that Misty would all of a sudden pop over but the time never came.

 

###

 

Their car arrived at the tall chic apartment building. Cordelia couldn't remember when she had last walked through these revolving doors with Misty anymore.

 

"Welcome home, Mist," Cordelia smiled weakly in the direction of the Cajun who had her face pressed against the window of the car.

 

Once they got of the car, Misty's good mannerisms meant her free right arm reached over for her own small duffel bag together which then met on the handles with the hands of the bellboy who had come to help her with it and the rest of the luggage. The veteran looked to Cordelia for an explanation and she simply received a nod of a head and then a hand gesture beckoning for her to follow.

 

"Leave it for the boy, won't you, Mist?" the Vice-president called out in a gentle tone to her lover who still looked unsure, "The girls will be home soon from Madie's and we have to get you settled."

 

Like a small child, Misty took off in the direction of Cordelia's, following quietly behind the blonde woman who smiled at her.

 

###

 

Misty anxious demeanor became relaxed once they emerged from the elevator. The older blonde didn't notice but the Cajun wasn't stunned by the fact that the elevator had opened into the living room.

 

She stepped into the living room confidently, like she had done so many times before. There was no hesitation, no second thought about whether they were in the right apartment. She just knew she belonged here.

 

_ (Misty's flashback to when they first met) _

 

_ They reached the building within 5 mins of walking and were ushered up a grand looking elevator. Misty was pleasantly surprised when the elevator door opened into the living room of Cordelia and Julienne's house. _

 

_ Their daughters scampered off deep into the house where Julienne's room was located. _

 

_ "Would you like a cup of coffee?"  _

 

_ "Water would do," Misty said as she stood starstrucked on the rug. She glanced around quickly when Cordelia had went to her kitchen.  _

 

_ (End of flashback) _

 

Misty blinked once, and then twice. She vaguely remembered being here before. 

 

Cautiously, she took it to herself to explore the living room while Cordelia was informing the bellboy of where he may leave their things, her tone annoyed when she realised he had brought up Fiona's suitcase as well which had been meant to leave for Fiona's house in the taxi. 

 

"It's so nice of ya' husband ta' allow ya' ta' bring me home, Miss- Uh...," she began, lifting up a photo of Cordelia and the two girls that laid on the side coffee table. Her memory was failing her and all of a sudden, she couldn't remember the woman's name.

 

Cordelia opened her mouth to say something, then closed it, her stern look sending the boy running before she turned to face Misty, her face plastered over in a fake smile.

 

Breathe, Cordelia, breathe.

 

"Cordelia," the older woman laughed pathetically, "Just Cordelia, or Delia. Anyway, we should get you settled before the children are back."

 

"Well, I was just sayin' it's so nice that ya' husband is letting me stay here, Mis- Delia. Thank ya'." Misty gave a slight smile, holding up the photo frame to inspect it again. Her hand hovered over Amelie's face and pressed her thumb gently over it before looking back at the older woman.

 

Cordelia took in another deep breath, pacing herself as her hands found her hips and squeezed them slightly. She closed her eyes and exhaled.

 

"Yes, Misty, there's um… it's um... My ex-husband died years ago. We, as in you and I, we have two daughters together. Well, one. But one of the girls are mine and she's yours too, but um..." she struggled to continue with the sentence. No spouse should ever have to remind their other half of the children they have.

 

Misty was slightly confused seeing as the older woman's explanation came out in a jumbled mess so she stood there muted, waiting for the woman to continue with whatever she had to say. The older woman took one look at her lover's confused expression, willing herself past the wave of sadness that engulfed her.

 

"You see the two girls over in the photos? The one with my eyes, that's Julienne, she's biologically mine. The other is yours, Amelie, but about… Seven years ago, we signed this thing… We're a legal family. We're family." Cordelia put it all on the table in one breath, looking all around for the adoption papers that they had signed which she always kept in sight, "You probably don't believe me… But I don't even know where the fuck they are..." she continued, her eyes suddenly brimming up with tears as her hands searched endlessly for the papers that were in the pink file she remembered putting in the bookshelf… Her mind was racing with thoughts.  _ Misty probably didn't believe what the fuck she was saying. This strange woman was telling her that she was family? What the actual fuck? Cordelia would've never fell for that crap.  _ And she kept searching and searching  _ but where the fuck did she put it? _

 

"Nah, I believe ya', Delia. We are family," Misty whispered setting the frame back to where she had first picked it up before her uncasted hand grazed over Cordelia's flustered ones, causing the older woman's heart to skip a beat, "Ya' can stop now," the Cajun repeated again, pressing her hand into Cordelia's, giving it a tight squeeze before an affirmative nod, pulling the woman into an upright position.

 

###

 

Cordelia sat on the sofa, gripping tightly onto Misty's hand that laid gently on her lap. She was telling Misty about everything she needed to know so she could interact with the girls as normally as she could.

 

Just as she was about to be done, Cordelia's phone rang.

 

"Hello, this is the Goode-Day residence."

 

"Hey Cords. I'm already downstairs with the girls. Thought I should give you a heads up before I send them up."

 

"Oh! Thank you Maddie, and please, come up and have a coffee or something."

 

"I think I'll pass this time, Cords. You stay strong, okay? See you soon!" Madison's cheerful voice came through and before Cordelia could convince the girl to come up, she had hung up.

 

True to her word, the girls were up in a minute or so.

 

###

 

"MOOOOMMMM!!!" the children yelled as the elevator doors opened up to reveal the wild haired mother standing on the other side of it.

 

The curly blonde let a wide smile grace her lips as she placed tender kisses on each of their foreheads, wrapping her long arm around the both of their bodies, pulling them against her body as they placed even more kisses all over her face. She had expected them to be much smaller but Amelie was already at her shoulder, while Julienne was just a couple of inches shorter.  _ This was her family. _

 

For a moment, Cordelia felt as though everything had gone back to normal. That Misty did not have amnesia and that the past seven years had been a dream.

 

Her eyes looked on dreamily as her perfect family stood in front of her, a distant memory. Now they were here. They were back here and no one was leaving, no one was hurting, everyone was happy.

 

"Hey ya' two," Misty cheered, looking at the faces of her children. They were  _ her children _ .

 

"What happened to your hand, Mom?" Amelie queried, taking her mother's broken forearm in her hands before whispering, " _ Sequere lucem venire ad me, et exaudiam te curabo morbi." _

 

Cordelia used her hand to slap her head. How could she forget.  _ Amelie could heal Misty! God, Cordelia, how much more fucking stupid can you be! _ She berated herself.

 

"Another thing, Amelie! Your mom… Remember how I told you a few days ago that she had hit her head really hard during an accident?" the older mother said to her daughters who were turning 13 in a few months.

 

"Yea," Amelie turned her head back towards Misty, "It must hurt quite a bit. Did you cry? I cry when I fall while playing tennis."

 

"Me too! I fell off the stage once," Julienne giggled alongside her sister.

 

"Ya' play tennis, Julienne?" Misty asked, smiling in the direction of Amelie, momentarily mixing up the both of their names.

 

"What…?" Amelie turned to look at her other mother who was now biting her lips, looking back to Misty who realised what she had done.

 

"It's Amy. And that was what I was going to get to. Do you think you can heal amnesia?"

 

"Mom has amnesia?" the blonde girl fretted, looking up into the blue eyes that indeed showed no recognition for them, "Does she not remember us?"

 

"I'm afraid not, darling..." Cordelia shook her head while Misty looked into her children's faces for any disapproval and indeed, the both of them started backing away from her embrace.

 

"Then- How-?"

 

"I told her everything before you girls came but she doesn't remember much, so forgive her if she gets it wrong, will you? She's coping too."

 

"O-okay… I... I can try… I guess..." the girl trailed, stepping back a step and Julienne excused herself from the hug, leaving Misty with a perplexed look.

 

" _ Sequere lucem venire ad me, et exaudiam te curabo morbi,"  _ Amelie whispered, planting her hand on her mother's skull area, closing her eyes in a quiet prayer.

 

Nothing came.

 

_ "Sequere lucem venire ad me, et exaudiam te curabo morbi,"  _ she repeated.

 

And time came and went in a sort of slow motion manner. Hope was slowly faltering with each passing minute. 

 

Still, nothing came.

 

Amelie opened her eyes, and looked at her sister's mismatched eyes, and then at her mother's before finally drawing them back to the same cerulean blue eyes she sees everyday in the mirror.

 

"Nothing..." she announced, defeated but quickly added, "You're still not going anywhere now, Mom?"

 

"Ain't goin' no where."

 

###

 

The girls finally reluctantly left their mother's side after much chiding on Cordelia's part to go finish up their school work. It was after all, still a school night.

 

Cordelia stepped beside Misty, placing her cold arm over Misty's shoulders and she gazed out of the windows to look at what intrigued her lover so much.

 

"It's an amazin' view ya' have here," Misty began, putting her arm up to lace her own fingers into the shorter woman's ones, pulling the both of them even closer to the floor length windows.

 

The city shone in a color that was mirrored in those bright tourist flyers. Misty's eyes fluttered close and they fell into a comfortable silence, the hum of the AC behind them as she allowed the evening sun to shine against her pale skin, acting as a natural highlight for her already sharp cheekbones. Their silhouettes cast long shadows into the rapidly darkening room, fading and fading…

 

Cordelia slowly leaned her head onto the Cajun's broad shoulders.

 

I..." Cordelia choked slightly, "I missed you."

 

"I know," the Cajun smiled.

 

###

 

Cordelia called over her personal doctor to help remove Misty's cast that night so the wild blonde would be more comfortable when she slept.

 

She also left the guest room for the Cajun, seeing as she was probably uncomfortable with sharing a bed with her because for goodness sake, they just met!

 

It was past midnight now but the door to the guest room creaked open, the moonlight illuminating Cordelia's silhouette as she stood there, looking longingly at her lover who was sleeping soundly.

 

A soft sob escaped her mouth as it contorted in an open frown, her hand quickly finding it to muffle the sound that came after. She fought with herself, knowing full well that at this rate, she would wake the Cajun up. Her heart ached with tremensity, each pump it made squeezed her heart impossibly tight, releasing it in a sort of erratic beat, the feeling of muscle soreness surrounding it. 

 

And sure enough, another hitched breath followed closely by a muffled cry came through her clasped mouth and the bed creaked in the same tune the door had when it opened, Cordelia frowning slightly, remembering that the bed was not supposed to be creaking and that she had spent a good fortune on those. But those restless thoughts were interrupted by the strong arms that clasped around her, almost as tight as her own hands that were silencing herself. And she stood there, silently, letting the wild blonde rock her into the peaceful darkness. The first hug since Cordelia had seen her.

 

Mentally, she berated herself for being so weak. So _ fucking  _ weak. She had promised not to cry in front of Misty, considering it would confuse her even more than she was now but the tears just couldn't stop coming and her sniffling grew heavier and heavier. 

 

Misty didn't seem to mind it one bit, oddly. She pulled the woman closer and rubbed her arm as their chests pressed together and perhaps, this was the fragile beginning of finding her way back.

 

###

 

Misty's cheeks were a rosy shade of red as she walked around the kitchen.

 

Today, after they were to send the children to school, Cordelia was going to bring Misty around the city.

 

The Cajun skipped behind Cordelia who had gestured for the younger woman to follow her up and back onto the second floor of the penthouse. They came to a halt in front of a room that was tucked away at the end of the hallway. With a wave of her hands, the double doors opened to reveal a myriad of clothes hanging off built in racks that were on three walls. Misty stared back in the full length mirror that covered the entire fourth wall.

 

"Pick anything you like. All these are mine but I think… I think they should fit you fine. I kept your old clothes in a box but I sent them down for dry cleaning if you'd still want to wear them..." the older blonde's tone grew with worry that Misty wouldn't want to wear her clothes.

 

But Misty had no problem finding the right outfit as she picked out a flowy Ralph Lauren white dress shirt whose buttons were undone at the top, flashing a small patch of pale skin that rarely ever got to see the light. Together, she had paired them with some male cut navy Bermudas. It was a preppy look but because she was tall, it gave her an air of nonchalance, as if she had effortlessly put them together this way. She complemented her white shirt when she opted for a pair of white leather oxfords. Cordelia offered the curly blonde a look into her personal collection of sunglasses and chosen a gold rimmed pair of ray ban aviators to complete the look. 

 

Her lover on the other hand had chosen a more dainty looking outfit, a pressed white sundress that was in an A-line shape, hugging her at the right places to give off a polished look of a wife. It's spaghetti straps held the weight of the entire dress, and Cordelia dreamily twirled in the mirror as Misty looked on and smiled.  

 

"Take these," Cordelia handed out a couple of keys that were bundled together with a brown leather key ring that was the alphabet "M", "I got someone to get them done when I knew you were coming back. The card is for the apartment, the smaller keys were from your old apartment and the last electronic one is for the car we are about to drive later. And… this is your new phone since the last one is… Well… Gone."

 

"I get ma' own car? Thanks ya' so much, Delia..." she looked down at the keys that she had just been handed.

 

"It's the least I could do, and also," Cordelia cheered before she dug through her wallet to reveal two credit cards that had Misty's name on it, "Just in case you ever run out on cash."

 

"Delia..."

 

"I'm trusting that you don't drain out my money by buying more Stevie soundtracks, please. The collection is in the audio room if you'd like to check it out," the older woman joked slightly as her hands patted down her straight blonde hair.

 

"Come on now, we don't have all day, let's go," Cordelia tiptoed and kissed her lover on the cheek, momentarily forgetting that Misty had no recollection of  _ them _ . Immediately, she followed up with, "Misty… I'm so-"

 

But Misty pecked her back on the cheek, "It's fine, Delia. We used to be  _ somethin', _ didn't we?"

 

"Y-yes..." Cordelia stuttered, flushing pink at Misty's statement.

 

"Well, then, kiss me because ya' love me. We are in love. Ma' pea brain doesn't r'member but ma' heart does an' it flutters when ya' do that. So kiss me til' I remember ya', Dee. Because I want to remember. I want to remember  _ us _ ."

 

###

 

Misty sat in the driver's seat, unsure whether she could remember to drive as she would be killing her family right now. Cordelia told her skills like that came back once you tried them and indeed, she was right. A few shaky starts later, the wild blonde was swerving the new Range Rover down the 5th street like an expert while Cordelia grabbed onto her seatbelt for her dear life, causing Misty to roar out in laughter. The girls on the other hand were having the time of their lives.

 

Funny how memory works, doesn't it?

 

The girls were now attending Middle School on that was slightly further away from the elementary school and with the help of Cordelia's direction pointing which consisted of the woman pointing wildly and shouting out the direction before Misty made the sharp turn and squealing followed.

 

The usual fifteen minute drive took about half an hour today because Misty kept turning the wrong way but, for the first time in years, filled with so much laughter and chatting.

 

As they approached their destination, the girls couldn't help but whine as the car came to a halt in front of their lavish city school that was located in the financial district of the city.

 

"Momma's  _ so _ driving next time," Julienne stated in a loud voice as she gave her curly haired mother a wink.

 

"And I'm  _ so not _ tagging along next time," Cordelia assured, catching her breath but her face said it all. She enjoyed it the whole time.

 

_ Kiss me, Dee. Kiss me til' I remember. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ending on a much, much lighter note this time. I hope you guys liked this.


	18. In Which, Misty Is A Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy reading!

 

They parked the black car in the school's parking lot, seeing as it was in a beautiful part of the city and decided to take a walk along the East River.

 

Misty pushed her aviator glasses over her head and stuck them into her thick blonde weave that bunched up behind them. Her eyes squinted as she looked into the river that mirrored the blue sky above.

 

A couple of mothers had recognised Cordelia who immediately turned away and faced Misty, a look of disgust apparent before turning back with a large smile to greet them.

 

"Hi, Cordelia, what a nice day to be out isn't it? And who may this be?" One of the thin ladies clad in the newest Chanel fashion spoke up as she approached the two women, her gaze on Cordelia's mystery woman.

 

"Hi, Donna, always nice to see you. Misty, this is Donna, Julieá,and Ye-rin, they're parents of Amy and Julie's friends. You all should know Misty from elementary school. She is Amelie's mother," Cordelia introduced in clipped words.

 

Misty scanned the women from toes up, and then back down. There were three of them. Darcy's mother, Donna had long blonde hair that was curled around the ends while Poppy's mom, Julieá's brunette hair was choppy and short in a pixie fashion that made her look like a model out of the runway. Ye-rin's daughter was Loise and she had the silkiest black hair. Each of the women had a different sense of style. While Donna had opted for a tweed short pantsuit, Julieá went for a more sophisticated look of a tan colored body hugging dress. Ye-rin on the other hand had a wine colored scrub top and matching pants that were covered over by a gentle cardigan, evidently coming from a night shift at the nearby hospital.

 

"Hiya..." Misty's deep raspy voice shocked the women slightly.

 

"Y'oui meanz..." Julieá's thick parisienne accent trailed slightly, remembering back to the time they had made fun of Misty when Cordelia came into her defense.

 

_ (Parent's flashback to the first few days of school) _

 

_ Cordelia figured it wouldn't do any harm to listen to the gossip anyway, so she stuck around and fiddled with her phone while listening. Mostly they were talking about the birthday bash of one of their kids that was held last week on Friday and this other mother who had brought cupcakes with artificial flavoring to the party. That was until she heard something that resembled the wild blonde.  _

 

_ “Did you hear about the one with the crazy hair?” _

 

_ “The one with the accent?” _

 

_ “Yes yes! For my daughter’s birthday party, she didn't even get a decent present!” _

 

_ “What did she get Marcy?” _

 

_ “A couple of chocolates that were in an old glass jar. She could've at least gotten a nicer looking jar or something” _

 

_ “Ew! I bet she got them from the dollar shop.” _

 

_ “Did you let Marcy eat them!” _

 

_ “Of course not, I just threw them away!” _

 

_ “Enough!” Cordelia hissed. She threw them a glance that could kill and walked away. The other mothers had gone quiet. Who dared to talked back Cordelia Goode? _

 

_ (End of flashback) _

 

"Yes, I am her co-parent, and girlfriend" Misty stated matter-of-factly as she slipped her one hand into Cordelia's unsuspecting ones and the other into her pockets and gave a slight shrug as if they should've known. The older woman's head immediately shot to the direction of Misty as the bold statement had taken her by surprise too.

 

"Oh wow, I didn't recognise you at all!" Ye-rin exclaimed, gesturing her hands wildly as she looked to the other parents who also failed to recognise the wild blonde. Afterall it had been seven years.

 

"Anyway, w'ze were head'zed for s'zome morning coffee, care to join z'us?" Julieá perked.

 

"We'll pass this time, see ya' guys 'round!" Misty yelled out in her heavy accent as she was already walking away from the group of gossiping woman.

 

But even then, they could still hear the after comments left by the women, "Oh my GOSH! That's Misty Day?! She's changed. Was that shirt she was wearing ripped out from the mannequin down Ralph Lauren’s boutique or what?"

 

###

 

As they made their way along the river, Cordelia couldn't help but gaze at her lover who had evidently changed much since they last saw each other. But her thoughts were interrupted when Misty's phone started to ring. The Cajun, very business like, whipped her new iPhone 6 out and picked up the call from the unknown number.

 

"Is this Master Sergeant Misty Day of the Marines?"

 

"Yes, this is she speakin'," she said in a formal tone.

 

"Please hold for the Secretary General of the Armed Forces."

 

Misty's jaw dropped. 

 

###

 

After a long phone call, the veteran finally hung up and toyed with her phone as she went over the whole phone conversation she just had to Cordelia who was anxiously awaiting for the information.

 

She had been awarded the Navy Silver Cross Medal and was to attend a ceremony held in the Pentagon Hall just south of where they were the the first Sunday of the next month. Other than that, she was going to receive a special commision promotion to the rank of Major for her extensive sacrifice made during her dispatchment and would from then on be honorably discharged from the army.

 

Cordelia was beyond elated. What Misty had set out to do, she had finally accomplished it. To be Cordelia's equal. Now she was more than that. She wasn't just some rich wealthy woman. 

 

She was the hero of her country.

 

###

 

It was finally the friday morning of the following week and Cordelia was sitting across the Cajun who had her legs propped up on the coffee table, doing the Times Crossword that had been freshly delivered this morning. The older woman had introduced it to Misty the second day she had been back and now she was officially addicted to it everyday. 

 

She had her tongue stuck out in serious concentration as she tried to solve 29 Across. Something that started with a S and ended with a E… She let out a slight huff five minutes later.  _ How do people even do this fuckin' puzzle thin'?  _

 

Without looking up, Cordelia answered, "29 Across, Struck Hard, it's Smote. Need me to spell that?"

 

Misty looked at the woman who was still calmly sipping on her coffee and looking down at the novel she was reading.

 

"What 'da actual… First of all, how did ya' read ma' mind. Secondly, ya' ought ta' stop bein' so darn smart?!" she cried out jokingly as she set the pencil and the newspaper down, trekking over to the opposite side.

 

"I'm a witch, remember?" Cordelia laughed out loud, shifting over slightly so the Cajun could sit on her side of the sofa, "Besides, I've been doing this since I could spell, and boy am I old. Obviously I'm good at it."

 

"Tis' is so unfairrr..." the Cajun whined out loud before plonking herself down onto the soft sofa, her shoulder lifting upwards as she gave a heavy sigh and pouted at the older woman who had a silly smile plastered over her face, "Ya' know, Delia, I reckon ya' an' I used ta' have real great sex."

 

The older woman's glance immediately shot to the Cajun who looked calm and collected even after the question, "What?!" Cordelia almost choked, her face changing three shades redder as she stared, bewildered, at the boldness of the wild blonde who simply shrugged her shoulders again, raking her hair through the tangled mess of curls before flopping the rest of them down past her shoulders.

 

"What's what? Ya' should take a look at ya' face now. It's so shocked, like "GoD! Misty! How can ya' say such a thin'?" the wild blonde laughed slightly, her lips up in a curl, "but tell me. Really, real question, was ta' sex great or not? I mean I hope I was good in bed? Now's a real good time ta' tell me if I sucked cause' I ain't gonna hold it 'gainst ya'!"

 

"Yes, yes the sex was good. It was lovely actually but goodness gracious, Misty. Where did you learn to be so bold?" 

 

"Good questions, funny I can't remember huh?" Misty tittered sarcastically, "Though I think… ta' army, probably. Surrounded by all 'em penisezzzZZzz. Maybe ya' can check ta' next time when we're in bed if I've grown one ta'!" 

 

"Misty!" Cordelia yelled out, clutching onto her stomach as she head lolled in laughter, her whole body wrecked with shaking fits.

 

###

 

It was about another week later when Misty gathered up as many pillows as she could and tip-toed towards Cordelia's master suite. She smiled at the thought of cheekily slipping into bed with Cordelia. Not for anything sexual, but just for cuddling. Over the past weeks, she'd learnt that her heart was constantly craving for Cordelia. She didn't know why, well, she knew it had got to do with being lovers but still, the feeling was new, but it felt good. Cordelia and her had grown much closer over the last two weeks. In fact, they never really seemed to have any uneasiness with each other. Everything fell in place, as if everything was always meant to happen.

 

She smiled wider as she got closer to the woman's bedroom. Cordelia seemed much happier now and they often spent afternoons joking about nothing and everything but…

 

Misty immediately came to a halt outside when she heard sniffling. Her eyes shot around before realising that it was indeed coming from the woman's bedroom.

 

Turning the doorknob silently, "Delia," the Cajun called out worriedly into the dark room, her eyes scanning around for where the woman might be and she noticed a lump under the duvet covers. Her eyes squinted to check if that were really her lover.

 

The whimpering immediately stopped.

 

"What are you doing up so late?" the woman hiccuped, pushing herself up onto the propped pillows. Misty's thin fingers found the switch under the bedside lamp. 

 

"Don't-", the older woman started to protest but the veteran had already lit up the room and now Cordelia's red swollen eyes were out on display for her lover to see.

 

"Come'er, Dee" Misty spoke the nickname so softly the older woman wasn't sure she heard it right but her eyes closed as Misty slid herself into the thick cream covers, entwining her legs between Cordelia's ones as she pulled her lover close. There was no questioning what she was doing. She just knew this was right.

 

And they sat like that for a moment until the woman's crying resided into soft hiccups that echoed in the room.

 

"I'm sorry I can't remember," Misty whispered softly, only intended for her estranged lover.

 

"It's not- It's okay..."

 

"Nah, it's not okay, Dee. I know it's not. But I also know deep down somewhere, I love ya'. I loved ya' once and I will love ya' 'gain, Dee. Please just be patient..." she begged. She felt so bad for not realising that even though they were joking and being fun in the day, the turn of events was still taking an emotional toll on Cordelia who had no choice but to hold it in till the night as she didn't want to bother Misty.

 

The straight blonde nodded into her lover's chest, her hand found Misty's and laced them together, holding them tight as she breathed in the rustic scent of the Cajun she had yearned for a long time now.

 

"I don't think ya' love me enough though, Dee," the Cajun stated seriously, looking down at the shocked eyes that showed horror.

 

"Wha-?"

 

"I mean, ya' room's so much nicer than mine, ya' could'a at least offered ta' let me sleep in here. I don't care. I'm sleepin' here from t'day onwards," Misty snickered, burying her nose in the hair that was in her face.

 

Cordelia laughed a little, and then a little bit more before soon, she was clutching her stomach in an attempt to sooth her cracking laughter.

 

###

 

That same week, Cordelia had taken the girls out of their respective extra-curricular classes so that they could go shopping together with Misty for the clothes they were going to wear to the veteran's award ceremony.

 

They were due for fifth avenue at approximately noon that day, after their lunch which was going to be at the place where Misty worked.

 

Immediately as they approached Misty was hit with a memory of sorts.

 

_ (Misty's Flashback to meeting Cordelia at the restaurant) _

 

_ The sliding door opened and Misty stood there with her head bowed down.  _

 

_ "May I take ya' order?" A low raspy voice came. _

 

_ Cordelia's head shot up at the sound of that familiar accent.  _

 

_ "Misty?" she queried. _

 

_ Misty's eyes slowly raised to meet bi-colored ones. She couldn't believe it. She hadn't wanted the older woman to find out she was waitressing. She didn't want her daughter to be treated differently. Now Cordelia knew, her sweet Cordelia knew she was as poor as a church mouse. _

 

_ (End of Flashback) _

 

Cordelia turned around when she realised the Cajun was no longer by her side but still standing at the front door, a glazed look settled over those blue eyes.

 

"Misty? Misty, what's wrong?" her worried tone immediately apparent as she ran towards the Cajun who stood rooted to where she was.

 

"We… Uh we met here b'fore? Ya' an' I… I was here b'fore," she stuttered slightly, looking to Cordelia's face for confirmation that this was in fact true. It was one of those stereotypical fuzzy memories seen from the movies that seemed to have been captured with some sort of vintage type camera. 

 

But she didn't need it to be clear because Cordelia's face lit up.

 

"Yes, Mist. Yes, I met you here once. Back when we first met. Do you..." the older woman was apprehensive but excited. 

 

"I saw 'dis thin', ya'know? Like the time we met, it flashed in front of ma' eyes an' I saw ya' an' me… An' I was a waitress, y'know? How cool?"

 

###

 

Cordelia's mood was lightened after that. She felt a spring in her step as they walked along the fifth avenue boutique stores, her eyes never leaving the Cajun who being pulled around by the girls from store to store as they showed her what was the latest in trend items.

 

Was this it? Was she going to start remembering things if she visited them? Then she must show Misty to the old clammy apartment. She had to.

 

But that could wait. Right now, they still have yet to find clothes for Misty's big event.

 

They rounded the corner of the street to find the signature turquoise sign of Tiffany & Co. peeping out. The girls immediately made a beeline for the jewellery store.

 

"God, there's going to be a hole in my pocket after this..." Cordelia complained but her smile remained unwavering. 

 

As the met the girls in the store itself, Misty couldn't help but marvel at the amount of shiny things in the store. From watches to necklaces to bracelets to rings…

 

_ Rings… _

Her eyes found the older blonde who was at the section of wedding rings and she was looking pointedly at them, picking out with her eyes which one she wanted but never making the sales assistant take it out for her to look.

 

_ Just looking… _

 

###

 

_ "On this blessed day, we welcome Major Misty Day of the Marines. Major Day has..." _

The older woman felt Misty steal her breath as she shakily exhaled into the Cajun's strong arms. It was today. Everything she had sacrificed had come up to today. The day where Misty Day would be honored. Cordelia had tears in her eyes as she watched her lover walk towards the podium to receive her medals and badges.

 

The sun was high above the city and it shone down it's golden rays onto the veteran who was wearing the crisp formal uniform that was a dark navy color. It's blazer was paired together with the matching pencil skirt that ended just above her knee. Her hair was in two dutch braids that were criss-crossed into a bun at the end, just the way she liked them. A smart top hat sat above the intricate hairstyle, her rank sewn proudly onto the sleeve of the uniform. 

 

She stood there, her hands slightly clammy, up on stage as they invited the important person, who's name Misty couldn't remember to present the award to her. Her eyes were slightly squinted under the bright sun, chest puffed out.

 

She was no longer afraid. Afraid of saying something wrong, of _ being wrong _ . Maybe the amnesia was good after all. Because she failed to recall the time before Cordelia and the time after that, it was as if she was reborn into this life. Money was the norm now, lavish was the lifestyle. There was no difference between what was hers and what was Cordelia's. They were equals now, after seven years. What made Misty run away at first had now come one full circle and she finally saw herself an equal of the wealthy woman. There was no guilt, there was no shame. They were equals now.

 

In all of this, the motivation, the original motives of leaving her family, Misty had forgotten and as ironic as it sounded, perhaps her sacrifice wasn't worth it.

 

But Misty changed. And it was a good change. 

 

The important person on stage said something, and then there was a standing ovation in honor of her, her eyes darting wildly across the crowd as she was glorified. Glorified by the authorities, by the government and by the people of this country. But as the weight of the metal hung around her neck, she only searched the crowd for a single face and when she finally saw the pride on Cordelia's face, tears streamed down her face and the world grew silent and they stared at each other. Just like that.

 

So slowly, steadily and surely, she walked off the podium, the sound of metal clinking onto her newly awarded awards that were pinned onto her crisp uniform. 

 

Her eyes met mismatched ones.

  
She was rebirthed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the change in Misty has you all smiling. I wanted to do this because I felt that even if Misty returned (without amnesia) she would still feel inferior to Cordelia. So by making her forget everything, she's a clean sheet now. Also, I made her slightly bolder and confident in general. Hope you guys like the new rendition of Misty! Comments are always welcome.


	19. In Which, Everything Comes Full Circle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Reading!

"What is it, swampy?" Madison yelled out to the curly blonde who had been lurking behind her for quite some time now. Cordelia was called in to work on something with Mrytle who was in town so Misty had called Madison over, hoping to get to know her better.

 

"Swampy?!" Misty called out, laughing, Madison joining in.

 

"Sorry, forgot you don't remember anything, Cordelia's _girlfriend_."

 

"It's fine, just wanna' ask ya' fo' a favour. Ya' okay wit' that?"

 

"Putting it out there nicely, swampy? I like the new you," the younger blonde wrinkled her nose at Misty, "When I first met you in that restaurant, boy did I think a rat peed on you or something."

 

"What ta'..."

 

"Kidding," Madison gave a sweet smile, "What is it you want my help with?"

 

"Gettin' a ring. Fo' Dee."

 

"YOU'RE PROPOSING?! ABOUT TIME?!"

 

"No I'm not. Not yet at least. I still don't remember anythin'," Misty furrowed her brows together as she walked over to the other blonde who was sitting an armchair in the home office. She looked worried almost.

 

The famous blonde looked at her counterpart intently before asking, "So what if you don't remember? She still loves you a lot, swampy. If that's what you're worried about. I don't think she would ever let you go again. And you'll remember. I know you will." Madison offered as an assurance to the wild blonde.

 

"I think even if I don't remember… _I'm falling in love with her all over again..._ " Misty whispered to herself.

 

###

 

Cordelia made her way around Bvlgari, shopping for the perfect engagement ring for her best friend, Madison Montgomery who was supposedly getting engaged to this mystery man.

 

"Shouldn't you be doing this with your boyfriend? Why are you torturing me..." Cordelia sighed as she rounded the fifth display case in the room.

 

"It's bad luck!" the blonde exclaimed dramatically.

 

"That's wedding dresses you dud," she chided but still continued looking around for rings, continuing, "Unless you're going to propose- Oh! This is perfect!"

 

Cordelia pressed her index finger against the cold glass, pointing directly at an exquisite yet simple pink cut diamond, making eye contact with the salesman to take it out.

 

"Ugh that is _so last season_ , Cordy," she strolled casually to look over at the ring Cordelia had gestured for the salesman to take out. She tried it on, her eyes glimmering at the famous blonde who simply rolled her eyes. Madison had her eyes trained on the ring.

 

Cordelia took one look at her friend and ignored her. She really, really liked this ring. God, it was so perfect… Until her mind fell on Misty. She couldn't help but feel a tinge of hurt. Was Misty ever going to remember anything? What did it mean for them? Her smile dropped into a frown and she took the ring off, leaving it on the cushioned tray as the salesman put it back into the display.

 

"What's wrong? I was just kidding! It's really nice!" Madison attempted at cheering her friend up. The whole room fell into a solemn mood. Hollywood looked at her friend, trying to decipher her sudden withdrawal, "What is it, Cords?"

 

"Just pick one, Madie. All of them look really nice." Cordelia said in cutting words, defending herself from the ammunition of questions Madison was armed with, "And I think you should come with your mystery man. It's only right."

 

With a huff, she left the famous blonde standing in the middle of the shop.

 

###

 

Misty received a text as she was doing the crossword at home.

 

_Madison: Cordelia had a moment. You should check up on her._

**_Misty: What happened?_ **

_Madison: She saw this ring and she just-_

 

The elevator's ding interrupted Misty's concentration and she turned to look at the blonde woman who had tears streaming down her face.

 

A waft of jasmine scent reached Cordelia's nose as it met unruly curls that had come to give her a tight hug. In Misty's arms, she felt her lover shrink ten years younger. A choked version of her name escaped plump lips in a lisp that came close to her ear, a heavy exhale following.

 

The wild blonde lifted her fingers to wipe away stray tears, looking into bi-colored eyes that had so much sadness in them. In that moment, she understood what had happened. Cordelia was afraid of losing her. Hell, Cordelia already lost her to amnesia.

 

Misty didn't need a explanation.

 

She knew she was responsible for this. And she blamed herself for it.

 

###

 

Cordelia woke up from her deep slumber, her hands roaming around the other side of the bed for her lover who had, amidst tears, rocked her to bed earlier.

 

The bed was still warm but Misty was not there anymore. Bicolored eyes shot open.

 

With her heart thumping rapidly against her ribcage, she quickly flicked her wrist and the lights came on, her eyes settling on the time after blinking rapidly in a futile effort to to adjust to the sudden brightness. The sky was still dark outside.

 

She opened the room into the dark hallway, making her way slowly down the stairs as she tried to find the wild blonde. The dining lights were on and Misty sat at the end of it, laptop flipped up at and angle while she furiously typed something into the search tab. The older woman's breath evened out.

 

"Cordelia? I'm sorry, I knew I'd wake ya' up. How are ya' feelin'? Better?" the Cajun looked up at her beautiful girlfriend who was now in clear sight.

 

"No, no. I… Just thought you were gone..." She admitted sheepishly.

 

Misty nodded before signalling for the blonde woman to join her on the seat next to her, placing a soft kiss on her cheek as she settled into the seat.

 

"What were you looking at?" Cordelia questioned, looking into the computer screen.

 

"Nothin' ya' should worry about, Dee. But, tell me. Would ya' like to bring me somewhere tonight?" Misty asked hopeful.

 

"Where to?"

 

"Ma' old place. _I just want ta' see it._ "

 

###

 

The drive there was slow, Cordelia trying to navigate through the unfamiliar neighbourhood, Misty being of no help.

 

Car shadows raced each other, doubling and doubling under each streetlight. The town was mostly asleep in this part of the city, an occasional gloom lingered from houses where rooms were still lit up.

 

The passed a couple of brownstone houses, Misty's hands against the glinted glass of the car windows as they passed by apartment blocks, wondering how hers may have looked like. Her mind was floating elsewhere.

 

As they pulled up against a brown bricked building, Misty couldn't help but think, this is it? This was her life before Cordelia?

 

Cordelia looked at her lover, waiting for her to move, to say something but Misty remained like stick still, as though even the smallest sound would spook her. So she waited, until Misty was ready.

 

Misty opened her mouth to say something before closing it like a goldfish in the tank, her gaze kept on switching between the building and Cordelia's face, the latter encouraging her to move forward, to get out of the car.

 

But she was suddenly so afraid. Afraid of what? She did not know.

 

"Let's… Go home, Dee," pleading blue eyes met bicolored ones.

 

"Misty, there's nothing to be afraid of..."

 

"Let's go home," she confirmed in an exhale.

 

###

 

_(One year later Winter)_

 

The day started out like any other day.

 

"Woooaah, girls! Hold ya' horses please," Misty said as she greeted the girls who had finally returned home for winter recess.

 

Amy and Julienne had completed middle school over the course of the past year and Cordelia had enrolled them in a boarding school, the Philippi Academy, which was located in the suburbs of Rhode Island.

 

"Missed you, Moms," Julienne's matured voice was heard by Cordelia who put away her apron to hug her daughters.

 

Christmas usually meant a few expensive presents being appearing at the doors of the girls bedroom at midnight in the Goode-Day household, but this year, a giant christmas tree sat in the middle of the living room like a white elephant.

 

"IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS BITCHES!" Misty laughed heartily.

 

"Misty! The girls are here!"

 

"Mom, we know what bitch means. We're not 6 anymore," Julienne said sarcastically, putting up her six fingers in an exaggerated manner.

 

"Who taught you that word?!" Cordelia cried out in horror.

 

"Aunt Madie. Who else?" Amelie sniggered, wrapping her hands tightly around Cordelia's torso, "We know you love her, Mom! Now come on! Come on! We got to get to the shops before the crowd comes!"

 

###

 

They arrived amongst the city shoppers and began their yearly ritual of buying christmas presents on the eve. This year, the adults in the family had decided that the children were od enough to pick out what they wanted.

 

The girls were off ahead of them.

 

Cordelia looked over at Misty who was unlike her usual bubbly self today.

 

"Hey, what's up?" Cordelia stopped them in their tracks, placing her hand onto Misty's sleeved forearm.

 

The Cajun paused slightly, looking at the older blonde before taking a step forward, shrugging lightly, "Not much. Just one of those days, y'know?"

 

"You want to talk about it?" Cordelia attempted at stopping them again, knowing that it wasn't just simply one of those days. But the veteran just kept walking, shaking her head.

 

Misty felt Cordelia's gaze on her. She felt slightly bad for ignoring the woman bute she didn't want to talk about it. Not now, at least. So she mustered the widest smile she could and turned back to the woman who still stood there.

 

"It's nothing, Dee. Come on, the girls must be waiting," she reached out her gloved hand and touched Cordelia's cheek before swinging her lanky arm over the shorter woman's shoulder, giving a slight nudge forwards.

 

###

 

As Christmas eve progressed into the night fall, Misty couldn't help but feel the pit of sadness in her stomach grow into overwhelming proportions that she could not ignore.

 

She rubbed lotion onto her hand as she sat under the thick covers of their posh lavender duvet, waiting for Cordelia to join her in bed.

 

The lights to the bathroom switched off with a click and Cordelia emerged in a matching plaid sleepwear, her hand running through her silky hair as the other found the black rimmed glasses and gently eased them off her nose bridge.

 

"You left the presents at the door already?" Cordelia smiled at her lover whose thoughts were miles away.

 

"Wrapped and delivered, as ya' told me ta', Santa!" Misty snapped from her thoughts, holding her hands out to Cordelia who jumped into them laughing, "Now where's ma' pressie, Santa Dee? Ain't I sucha' good litt'le helper?"

 

"Mmm, you smell nice," the older woman said as she placed a gentle kiss onto Misty's nose, "What kind of a present do you-"

 

She was cut off by Misty's lips that fell upon her plump ones.

 

It wasn't the first time they had shared a lip kiss. No.

 

_(Cordelia's flashback to 8 months ago)_

 

_Cordelia was in the kitchen, trying to bake something out of nothing for the birthday party of one of the children's friend._

 

_"Girls! You said Thomas allergic to what again? Pecans, gluten, peanuts, lactose and what?!" she sighed exasperatedly as she flipped the recipe book with her mind, her hands crossed in front of her._

 

_"ALL NUTS, MOM! NOT JUST PECANS AND PEANUTS!" one of the girls shouted towards the kitchen as they continued to watch_

 

_"Damn right this is nuts," she muttered under her breath, "I should just make a meat pie."_

 

_"Ya' should think twice 'bout 'dat, Dee. He's vegetarian, ta'," the raspy voice floated into the kitchen, causing Cordelia to turn around to look at her lover who had set a mug into the dishwasher._

 

_"Remind me about how I came to the decision to cook something again?"_

 

_"Cause yer' amazin' at cookin'?" Misty chuckled, causing the older woman to glare playfully at the helpfulness of that comment, "Ya' know what ya' should do, Dee? Ya' should come drink dis' Pinot nior I saved just fo' this occasion."_

 

_The tall woman walked over to the wine fridge and let her hand slide through each bottle until she found the perfect one before taking it to her mouth to pop the cork open._

 

_"How did you know this was what I needed?" Cordelia graciously accepted the bottle of wine, but not before intertwining herself in Misty's arms._

 

_"I'm psychic, ya' don't know?" Misty acted hurt, pushing Cordelia's body weight that was leaning on here, the latter rolling her eyes as her hips swayed forth to touch the island counter in front._

 

_They look at each other playfully. And before she knew it, Misty was getting closer and closer… So close she could feel her breath against her cheek, foreheads touching as they abandoned their wine glasses on the granite countertops._

 

_Cordelia's head dived in and their lips brushed against each other, the passion of it like it was their first kiss. It was, she convinced herself. It was her first kiss with this Misty. The Misty that was bold and changed and boy was she right as she felt Misty's tongue dancing across her own lips, before they parted, allowing her tongue to join in a sacred dance._

 

_"You knew that was going to happen?" Cordelia asked._

 

_"Yea, I'mma psychic. Remember?"_

 

_(End of flashback)_

 

Her flashback ended with a sweet smile on her lips until Misty flipped Cordelia over and began to assault her with smoochy kisses all over her face.

 

If life could get any better.

 

###

 

The lack of light in the room made the veteran feel even lower than she felt now. Cordelia was sleeping soundly beside her and Misty couldn't help but lift a misplace strand of golden hair to hook it behind the woman's ears.

 

She tilted her phone and the time lit up.

 

2:33AM.

 

What an ungodly hour it was to be awake.

 

She closed her eyes and wished for the sun to come in a second but her eyes fluttered open the next and it was still dark out.

 

2:33AM.

 

She checked again just to be sure.

 

Sighing, she laid back onto her pillow with a thump before she shot up suddenly, seemingly having forgotten that her lover was right next to her.

 

Cordelia turned at the sudden movement and indeed, being the light sleeper that she was, she opened her eyes to see the Cajun scribbling a note onto the post-it pad before silently tiptoeing out of the room.

 

The older woman contemplated on following the wild blonde but decided against it when she saw the note, "Go back to sleep, Dee. Saw you wake up. Be back in a jiffy. Need sometime alone."

 

Cordelia sunk back into the bed, wondering what Misty was up to.

 

###

 

The black Audi SUV swerved into a small parking lot by the road leading to the apartment block and a pair of black uggs appeared from where the door was opened.

 

Misty stepped out of the car, only a thin coat of her plaid pjs as she bolted from the car into the heated stairwell of the worn down block.

 

Her hands found the pockets of the coat and she fished the bundle of keys out, the metal making clipping sounds together through the rough movement.

 

Her other hand was still in her pocket and she made her way, slowly, up the stairs, up till the third floor. She had to remind herself to breathe.

 

Over the past year, she had returned to this same apartment block time and time again only to have herself run back down the stairs as fast as her legs could carry her. But tonight was going to be different. She had a feeling that this was it. All these while she was so afraid of the unknown and of the known but time was up.

 

She wasn't going to play the game of amnesia anymore. And she knew, whatever she needed to win was behind those wretched doors.

 

And as she slammed the key into the door, she knew she was opening a door she could not ever close again.

 

###

 

She was inside now.

 

It smelt slightly musky from over the years but it felt like she was in a time capsule. Cordelia obviously hadn't been here for a long time since the plants on the vintage green bookshelf were dead.

 

It felt like she was in her own mind.

 

The lights flickered slightly, wavering and prepared to combust but still, they held on and the room came to life.

 

The red loveseat was back facing from the door and Misty found a layer of dark dust settled over it as she swept her hands over it's velvet arm.

 

She took a three-sixty turn, almost like a pirouette, absorbing all the details of the apartment she could possibly take in a glance and she found her eyes settling on the white door that led to only what she couldn't believe was the tiniest bedroom she had ever seen.

 

The bed was still wrapped proudly in a white colored sheet, duvet tucked away carefully. She wondered if she was the one that did that before she left or if Cordelia dropped by after to tidy up.

 

She settled that it was Cordelia's hired help that did it.

 

Her eyes scanned the exposed brick wall and she felt this sense of familiarity prick her on the shoulder, calling her from the other wall and she turned around to find a laminated piece of ticket to a broadway show tacked onto the wall.

 

She somehow knew where everything was and soon, she was rummaging through the wooden bedside table and through her kitchen cabinets and through her cupboard but the plants and the broadway ticket seemed to be the only one left behind of her past life. Everything else had been cleaned out, removed.

 

In a fleeting moment, she almost felt a flashback grace her mind but then everything that felt familiar suddenly deemed itself brand new.

 

She collapsed onto the dusty bed, clutching to what was left of her identity.

 

"Amelié," she whispered, reading out the name of the musical.

 

But the moment had passed and she was at the brink of reality. But jumping was not an option.

 

###

 

The morning light flooded through the lengthy windows of the posh bedroom and Cordelia let out a huge yawn, stretching before her hand touched the cold surface of Misty's side of the bed. She froze before last night's events came to her.

 

Slowly, she made her way down, hoping to find the familiar curly blonde whistling in the kitchen but the house was silent. The children still asleep as today was christmas morning.

 

She tried at calling Misty's cell but it only brings her straight into voicemail so in a whim, she called the security personnel and demanded to know where Misty's Audi had been driven to.

 

When they got back to her, she already had Madison and Fiona invited over as she silently prayed that Misty had not pulled another one of her missing tricks on her again.

 

She was having none of it.

 

###

 

Immediately after confirmation, Cordelia had herself transmutated into the apartment, fuming mad as she slammed her fist onto the bedside table where Misty was laying on the bed.

 

"Mist, what in the actual world were you thinking? It's christmas morning. Couldn't you leave this for another day? I'm not about to play treasure hunting when it just ended less than two years ago. Do you even think about my feelings _at all_?" her list of accusations growing longer by the passing minute.

 

She paused for a while, waiting for the wild blonde to respond but her back only faced her.

 

"Misty you better have a jolly good explanation for this," she hissed harshly as her nails dug into the fabric of Misty's coat, forcefully turning the veteran to face her.

 

It was then she realised that the wild blonde was shaking.

 

"Ya' know, Dee-" the Cajun choked out, "Ya' know I was- I was doin'- I was so- So close- An' I can't- Remember- I can't-"

 

"Breathe, Misty. Misty you need to breathe," Cordelia gently plead as she circled her arms around the wild blonde who was still shaking her head profusely.

 

"I- I tried an' I- I can't- Dee-," Misty sobbed.

 

"Hey, it's okay."

 

"I- had 'tis feelin' 'bout- tis' ticket an' I saw it an' I tried- An' ma' silly brain- can't remember- I was so- close- ta' rememberin'-," she choked once more before she buried her sorrys into Cordelia's blonde mane and cried the remainder of her lover's name out.

 

Seeing Misty's breakdown commence in front of her very eyes had her stunned. All these while since the soldier returned home, it was always her consoling Cordelia who would break down every so often.

 

She realised she never once made any form of reassurance to the wild blonde that it was okay to take her time and that everything was going to come back eventually.

 

In fact, she had been so caught up with herself and _her grief_ that she had neglected her lover.

 

"Misty, I want you to look at me, okay? It is OKAY that you don't remember. I've been so selfish and so ignorant and I'm sorry, Misty, I really am."

 

"De-," Misty began to start.

 

"No, it's not okay that I've been acting like I'm the only one that lost you. You lost you too and I have to acknowledge that. I thought everything was fine and if I act like it didn't happen at all it would make us both feel better and I was wrong for not acknowledging your feelings. I thought I had it covered but somewhere down the road we stopped talking to each other about it and I'm sorry. Please forgive me?"

 

"Fo'given, Dee," Misty shook her head, "But there ain't anythin' ta' forgive 'bout. We both had our wrongs and we just gotta' move on. Promise?"

 

"Promise. Now, now, tell me what it is you're holding and we can start from there?"

 

###

 

_(New Years Eve, 5 days later)_

 

"Dee, ya' really shouldn't have splurged on this!" Msity exclaimed as they were escorted into the VIP box of the Lorrienta Orion Theater where Amelie was screening.

 

The older woman had made sure they got the best seat in the house.

 

Today, the whole family was dressed to the nines for this show. Cordelia was in a fit and flare tan trench coat, paired of with a black skin-tight sleeved shirt and a pair of same colored cropped pants. Misty on the other hand went for the darker spectrum of the color wheel and settled for a double breasted navy coat together with black leggings, accentuating her long limbs. The girls had opted for lighter fashion, both sporting quilted cardigans.

 

"It's worth it," Cordelia smiled widely at the wild blonde before leaning in to kiss her.

 

The theater darkens slightly and both broke away from the kiss, leaving Misty's eyes to adjust to the darkness surrounding them. She couldn't wait to see what this was about.

 

As the main character, Amelié appeared on the stage, Misty felt herself spin.

 

She tried to look to Cordelia for help but Cordelia was no longer in the seat next to her. She turned back to look at the stage in front. It was still there. She was still here. Where was Cordelia?

 

She gripped ahold of her head in hopes of stopping the spinning but instead, it was made worse when the actor began singing a myriad of songs and soon, a string of memories that came from nowhere and everywhere took over.

 

_(Series of Flashbacks)_

 

_Misty opened her eyes and she saw herself. A young her, barely 19 years old craddling a baby in her old apartment._

_"Hey," she cooed to the baby in her arms, "I'm yer' Mama. Can ya' say Mama?" She looked wide eyed at the blonde haired baby who was barely two months old. Even till now, she hadn't decided on a name for the baby and she had to get her daughter registered tomorrow._

 

_She sighed. "Would'a been great if I could name ya' Sunny or Stormy, y'know since I'm Misty?" She laughed to herself, "Peony? Ya' like that? Sara? Stevie? Stevie? I really wanna name ya' Stevie," she muttered._

 

_Misty looked wide eyed at the vision of herself._

 

_The door to the apartment opened and it lead into a playground. A child about 3 or 4 was toddling around, this time, the young her was chasing the kid around, finally catching her as they rounded the slide, tickling her as she lifted the toddler up. The mother placed a small kiss onto the young girl's cheeks, "Amelie," she cheered._

 

_Now, Misty found herself in a posh looking school and an older woman she recognised as Cordelia was confronting a very confused her at the school. And then she was in the apartment she knew. In front of Cordelia's tell tale full length windows as she watched them both share a kiss._

 

_And she was crying._

 

_There was hugging._

 

_More crying. Until Kyle was telling her something about going away, somewhere._

 

_And she was back in the old apartment packing. What was she packing for?! And she realised this was the part she left Cordelia. This was what happened._

 

_Everything fell into place after that._

 

_DisneyWorld, leaving the second time, FaceTiming, and in the most vivid manner, the accident that robbed her of her memories._

 

_(End of flashback)_

 

###

 

Cordelia looks to her left to find Misty in a daze.

 

She put her hand on the Cajun's forearm and a vision of what Misty was seeing hit her hard.

 

Shocked, she seeks out Misty's eyes which tell her everything she needed to know. Now she knew that Misty knew. No spoken interaction was needed for confirmation. Just a plain simple nod.

 

Misty remembered everything.

 

Both blondes turn behind to look at their daughters who were stil engrossed in the broadway show. Misty looked at Amelie like she once did before she forgot.

 

"Which one of you suggested that you called me Momma again?" Misty asked softly, still unable to wrap her head around the fact that she remembered.

 

Amelie gave a look of shock and Julienne looked to Cordelia for an explanation, only to receive a solemn nod from her mother.

 

The red curtain closed.

 

###

 

Because they were CIP, the whole family was able to go behind the stage to meet the cast members. Cordelia asked if they wanted to skip out on that but Misty said it was fine and they had all the time in the world to talk after.

 

Geraldine Jacobs who played Amelié was the first to greet them and she immediately recognised… Misty.

 

"Ms Day! If I had known… Thank you for your heroism…" she gasped, scanning the wild blonde up and down.

 

"How did'ya know who I 'm?"

 

"My brother was Trent… Trent Jacobs… But I… I don't think you remember him? He talked about you all the time, wrote letters about you. You were his guardian angel."

 

"I remember him..." Misty slipped. She remembered the red hair greened eyes buddy. Of course she remembered him, "I remember all of 'em."

 

###

 

Finally, as they finish talking to the rest of the cast, Geraldine invites them up to the rooftop to watch the ball drop.

 

Cordelia turns her head towards Misty, in hopes of kissing her lover but instead, as the countdown for a minute began to start, the wild blonde took one deep breath and was suddenly on her knees.

 

"Delia. Y'know, I've been waitin' fo' this day to come fo' too long now… An' I… I promised ma'self that I would do 'dis once I remember an' what better time than today..." she spoke with deep raspy words that sounded different because she remembered now, but all the same still.

 

Still kneeling, she leaned over to grab Cordelia's purse which was set down on the floor, earning a few chatters about how the older woman didn't know the ring was in her own bag but as Misty's hand emerged victorious with a floss box, everyone laughed out loud.

 

Misty shook the box, just to make sure it was still inside and opened the lid to shake it out, revealing to Cordelia the pink cut diamond she had wanted from a year ago and that the whole Madison thing was a trick.

 

"I knew," Cordelia admitted bashfully.

 

Misty frowned, "An' I would've thought a paid actress would act betta',  _ huh? _ "

 

But a smile was quickly plastered over her face again as she took the ring between her thumb and index, her other hand supporting. She looked up at Cordelia, tears in both their eyes.

 

And as the final 10 countdown began, Misty asked in a softened tone, Cordelia barely hearing her over the flourishes of the crowd from the street below.

 

"Will you marry me, Dee?"

 

Overwhelmed by the sudden change of events, she simply nodded, not trusting her voice.

 

And under the fireworks that lit up the sky, they kissed under the moonlight, tear tracks cutting against each other's cheeks as the cast of Amelié and their daughter's faded into the background.

 

_ Everything comes full circle. _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second last chapter now. Been such a great journey writing my first multi-chaptered fanfic. I hope you guys liked it! Let me know what you think!


	20. In Which, We Say Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter!!!!! Happy reading!

_ (3 months later, Spring)  _

 

Their wedding was an intimate affair. Nothing too extravagant apart from the fact that it was held at the top floor of the Empire State Building. 

 

Misty, dressed in a stallion cream suit, double breasted with black buttons, was pacing around like a mad man as she awaited for Kyle to arrive with the wedding bands. She wringed her palms together, settling down on a cushioned seat, her tapered pants rising slightly over her ankles as she tapped her white oxfords on the floor impatiently. She had left the rings at home by accident and Kyle and Zoe had gone to retrieve it. Pushing her sleeve up slightly, she revealed the watch face and shook her head silently. They were less than 10 minutes away from the ceremony! 

 

"Mom, stop being so nervous! You're making me get the chills too," Julienne said as she slumped down onto the floor.

 

"Hey, hey, ya' don't wanna sit on the floor, young lady. Ya' will get ya' dress all dirty!" Misty said in a raspy voice disapprovingly as she walked over and helped her daughter up into a standing position, offering her the seat instead.

 

Julienne pouted slightly and swept her hand across the bottom of her fiery red dress before graciously accepting the seat that was offered, "You know, Mom, why don't you read your vows- Nevermind," their heads turned to look at Kyle who had just burst into the dressing room, two blue ring cases in hand.

 

"God, ya' made it!" the wild blonde exclaimed, running up to her best man and engulfing him in a tight hug, mouthing a thank you to Zoe who lagged behind slightly.

 

"And I thought this would be a good time to pass this to you, Mist," he urged a letter into Misty's pale hands. 

 

Immediately, she recognized the worn envelope from years ago. She nodded. It was a good time to have reminded her of this letter. Her hand gripped onto Kyle's and she gave it a tight squeeze as a deep breath was taken in. Shakily, she exhaled, careful to not let any tears ruin her makeup.

 

"Now let's get you ready, shall we?" Kyle patted onto his fellow veteran's broad shoulder, leaving an arm outstretched which Julienne took, half skipping, half jumping as they made their way towards the wedding reception.

 

###

 

Misty stood up on the raised platform, under the beautiful wedding arch. Her cerulean blue eyes searched around wildly through familiar faces in the small crowd.

 

There was Fiona, sitting on the side of Cordelia's who today, instead of black, was dressed in a royal purple gown. Myrtle, oh sweet Myrtle had opted to sit in on Misty's side, seeing as her parents were obviously not in the picture anymore. The redhead was wearing an avant-garde yellow dress, paired with red leather gloves. Misty shrugged. The woman could wear anything and still pull it off.

 

And then there was Madison who stood next to Zoe, her sunglasses still atop her nose, looking snide as ever in her blue sweetheart jumpsuit. But when she saw Misty looking at her, she gave a sweet genuine smile. Zoe wore a flowy Amber midi dress, in contrast to Madison, had natural nude makeup on apart from the pink lipstick. 

 

Kyle was standing together with Zachary and the rest of her friends from the Marines. Even though Trent and Christopher were no longer with them, they were lived on by their families who had also been invited to this joyous occasion.

 

Her eyes swept over the crowd and she looked at the magnificent view. If she were to be honest, it was prettier than the one at Cordelia's apartment. She laughed slightly at the honesty of that confession, shaking her head while looking down.

 

But the moment was not long lived, her head snapping up when she heard the first creaking of the double doors. 

 

And there stood her wife-to-be, in a nude Valentino gown. Misty's jaw dropped ten floors down as she gasped. The gown wasn't the traditional white gown but it was alluring with its intricate white and black little flowers littered all over, a black ribbon tied at Cordelia's slender waist. The hem of the gown was also made with the same black fabric, giving it a finished look.

 

Cordelia's eyes sparkled under the light as her hands gripped tightly onto the baby's breath that was tied together with a thick white ribbon for contrast. In her hair, golden leaves were woven loosely into the same golden strands, lumping up into a small bun at the end.

 

Her bicolored eyes seared into blue ones as they looked at each other longingly.

 

In that moment, Cordelia accidently stepped on her dress, causing her to trip slightly. Misty was ready to jump into action if she fell but the graceful straight blonde regained her composure, her teeth biting onto the lower lip as she gave a bashful smile and looked at the wild blonde.

 

Misty smiled. Happiness is like a can of soda. Slightly fizzy, very sweet but it doesn't last for very long. Seeing the love of her life walk down the aisle, that was happiness. And in that moment, it felt like happiness was going to last forever.

 

Cordelia walked, gazing at her lover. Her hands parted, from her middle and she reached over the wild blonde's waist, encircling them fully.

 

Their hands remained interlocked as they faced laterally towards the officiator, the room fell silent.

 

"We are gathered here today to witness my debut as a wedding officiate," the crowd let out a roaring laughter, "And to also celebrate the love between these two women, whose love have endured more than most marriages have in a lifetime," the officiate started his speech as the crowd looked on at the women who stood in front of the room.

 

"And in this room today, we have all experienced love one way or another. A mother's love, a lover's love, a friend's love..." he continued as the women tuned out, mesmerized by each other's eyes, "... and the both of you fell in love by chance. But today, you are making the choice of your lifetime. You are choosing each other. To love and to be kind, to joke and to live with. So will you, Cordelia Goode, continue to cherish Misty as your loving wife and favourite person, to continue to seek and go on adventures with, through thick and through thin, for as long as you live?"

 

"I do," Cordelia looked up into blue eyes again.

 

"And will you, Misty Day, continue to cherish Cordelia as your loving wife and favourite person, to continue to seek and go on adventures with, through thick and through thin, for as long as you live?"

 

"I do," Misty said confidently.

 

"That was easier than I thought!" He joked, earning an applause from the attendees, "Hey! Hey! Not just yet, Missus!" he exclaimed again causing Misty's lips to pull away from Cordelia's as they both looked down red faced. The smiled when the officiant stuck out his index finger and shaked it like they were impatient children.

 

"Now, they have chosen lovely, lovely rings to symbolize their love for eternity. All love come from humble beginnings, same for theirs. It is imperfect and it is flawed. Through serendipity and effort, two of the most extraordinary women that stand in front of me today have shaped it into something so much more than that. And so, as you look at the rings for the many years to come, I hope that you too, will remember the meaning of them, and the meaning of today for the rest of eternity," he cheered, raising his glass as he lead the crowd for their toast.

 

"Till death do us part," the both of them whispered.

 

Cordelia let her arm hang loosely around Misty's neck and she tip-toed slightly, allowing Misty to lean into the kiss. In the closeness, they were both lost in their world of blissfulness. There was something unique about their kiss in that it was a sacred bridge between their minds, their souls and their body. Between everything that mattered and everything that didn't, the felt each other grinning into the kiss, their scent intoxicating.

 

And they let their lips part slightly, longing and yearning.

 

She was her wife.

 

And  _ she  _ was _ her _ wife.

 

###

 

_ (10 years later, End of Spring) _

 

Misty and Cordelia stood up in their seat as they applauded their oldest daughter who had just danced her first solo piece as a First soloist dancer with the American Ballet Company. It was just shortly after her high school that Julienne decided to pursue a career in professional ballet, while her sister had gone just the exact opposite way.

 

Once the red curtains closed, Misty, armed with a large bouquet of flowers, was first to pull Cordelia by the wrist to make their way backstage to congratulate Julienne, leaving their brood of friends and family behind to catch up to the wild blonde's large strides.

 

"Moms!!" she screamed, putting down everything the minute she spotted her mother's making their way towards her dressing table, "Sissy couldn't make it?" she pouted before shrugging a Juicy Couture jacket onto her leotard and unclasping her tutu skirt from her waist.

 

"Yea… Still stuck in Germany, ya' sis," Misty gave a pout too, pausing, "She's comin' home next week. Gotta go get that rascal from the airport, ya' wanna tag alon'?"

 

"OMG! Amy!" the blonde daughter exclaimed, gesturing her hands wildly.

 

"Don't needa' be so excited," Misty laughed.

 

Cordelia looked into her daughter's eyes who were telling a whole different story. The bi-colored eyes weren't looking at the tall blonde, they were looking past her shoulders. She whipped her head around to see her friends who stood neatly in a row hiding something, someone behind them.

 

"Holy, mother-" Cordelia gasped as Fiona, Madison and Kyle parted in the middle, revealing their younger daughter, who stepped out from the darkness. Amelie who stood in full army gear, her hair no longer as long as her mother's. Instead, it was cut in a blunt blonde bob, no longer curly but looking naturally straightened, neatly tucked behind her ears. She lifted her cap off, revealing that her fringe was also cut blunt just right above her eyebrows.

 

Her hand found her slack jaw, as her free hands found Misty's arm and spun her around to meet the same cerulean blue eyes that belonged to none other than their younger daughter who had turned 24 just late last year in a birthday celebration Misty deemed "pathetic" over skype as she couldn't make it back in from Germany.

 

Zoe followed closely behind in full uniform too, engaging in a passionate kiss with Kyle who quickly wrapped his arm around his wife's waist.

 

"What's this, spring break? You're still in high school?!" Julienne teased as her hands wrapped around her sister tightly, "By the way, you stink."

 

"Nice to see you too," Amelie pursed her lips together, acting annoyed as she pulled away from her sister, taking a good look at her.

 

About 3 years ago, after the last year of her medical school, Amelie Goode-Day had decided she would pursue a career in surgery, training to be a trauma surgeon. Following in the footsteps of her legendary mother, she decided to leave her family behind to become the best she could be, working in an armed forces hospital in Germany alongside the now renowned Dr. Zoe Benson, otherwise better known now as Dr. Zoe Spencer.

 

"How'ya…?" the Cajun questioned. Her daughter wasn't due to be back till more than a week later.

 

"Hi Moms!" she chirped, floating around as she placed light kisses on each of her mother's cheeks before moving on to Fiona, of whom she gave a sloppy kiss that lingered, resting her shoulder over her grandmother, "Missed me?"

 

"I thought you weren't going to be home for another week!" Cordelia finally said after overcoming her initial shock, gesturing towards her daughter to come towards her.

 

"Well… Aunt Zoe and I… We thought it would be a great surprise! Plus, I wouldn't miss Julienne's performance for the world, dude," she turned her head towards her sister who winked and fist bumped her, "And before you ask, the hair is totally awesome, I know. Totally a rash decision too."

 

"Never thought our hair could be so tame. What's ya' secret?! An' yer' becomin' more an' more like Dee, y'know?! Julienne? When ya' gonna get curly hair?!" Misty almost yelled out, her hand reaching over to stroke the short blonde bob that was slightly curled around the edges.

 

Amelie erupted into a fit of laughter, clutching onto her stomach as she digested the thought of her sister with curly hair. Cordelia did the same too, and soon, everyone else followed, laughter an echo throughout backstage.

 

“Shall we take a photo?” Cordelia paused to ask between giggles that subsided.

 

And the extended family huddled together, lines of individual couples melting into the next, the stars of the family standing shoulder to shoulder.

 

And they knew in that moment that life could not get any better.

 

###

 

The brood approached the apartment block they were all too familiar with in three carbon copied Mercedes cars. Like celebrities, each car rolled up right to the front doors and they walked the imaginary red carpet that led towards the counters.

 

Everyone was in a joyous mood except for a particular wild blonde who remained rather quiet for the entire journey home and even now as the familiar elevator ding signified their entrance to the top floored apartment.

 

Cordelia felt her eyes falling worriedly on the tall blonde as the latter stalked upwards into their room, everyone else piling into the kitchen downstairs. When she looked back to the kitchen, she realised that she wasn't the only one who had noticed that the wild blonde was acting weird today.

 

"Hey, what's swampy doing?! Tell her to get down here!" Madison was the first to yell out, Zoe and Kyle shushing her at once.

 

"What!? It wasn't like..." her high-pitched voice was drained out by raspy ones and Cordelia turned around to acknowledge the voice.

 

"Is Mom okay?" Amelie asked wide-eyed as she pointed towards her mother's shadow which disappeared into the women's shared bedroom. Fiona took a stride over and joined in their conversation, "You should check on her, Delia. Go check on her. I'm sure it is something," she said, urging her blonde daughter to follow the veteran up.

 

"I'll go check… Don't worry too much about it, okay?" Cordelia smiled reassuringly and patted her daughter on her shoulder, "I will get her down in a minute," she continued, looking to Fiona who gave her a nod.

 

With that, Cordelia's hands tapped lightly on the handrail as she ascended the stairs to where her wife was.

 

Before she entered, she looked down on her fingers, her fingers finding her wedding ring she received from Misty just a little more than 10 years ago. Her slender fingers adjusted, pulling and tugging on it until she finally settled and knocked on the door slightly before opening it.

 

And she saw her wife sitting there on the bed, a memory flooded her mind once again.

 

_ (Cordelia's flashback) _

 

_ She opened the double doors to reveal her beautiful wife in a bathrobe sitting on their lavender duvet, reading some sort of Shakespearean book. Cordelia had just returned from a trip to the office to settle some stuff with Fiona and Myrtle about the growing number of students that were enrolling in their schools. She knew that her work was calling for her but she still set her bag down onto the armchair all without taking her eyes off of the Cajun. _

 

_ "Hey, shouldn't ya' be doin' some of ya' fancy work stuff?" Misty said without looking up from her book. _

 

_ "How do you know I'm not doing my work?" Cordelia questioned playfully. _

 

_ "Because I can feel ya' eyes on me," the wild blonde chuckled softly as she set the book down onto her lap, gesturing for her wife to join her on the bed. _

 

_ "Was it a good book?" Cordelia asked, snuggling into her wife's arms. They had been married for about 3 years at this point and still, the shorter blonde would never give up times like this for anything even remotely close. "Shakespeare's a fuckin' genius, let'me tell ya' that," Misty swore, bopping Cordelia's nose with her index finger, "Shouldn't ya' get ta' ya' work?"  _

 

_ "Noooooo..." Bi-colored eyes looked pleadingly but Misty was having none of it as she slowly detached Cordelia from herself, causing the latter to yelp as she fell onto the floor after a great struggle to hold on. _

 

_ "You suck," Cordelia shouted from the floor between giggles. _

 

_ "If ya' finish yer' work early, I jus' might have a present for ya'," Misty introduced an incentive to Cordelia as she peeped down on her wife on the floor before flashing a boob. _

 

_ Cordelia's jaw dropped. _

 

_ "Lookin' at ma' boob… TOUCHIN' MA' BOOB!" She rushed to close her bathrobe as Cordelia's wandering hands reached upwards, "Ain't gonna get ya' anywhere. GET TO IT!" Misty screamed before falling back onto the bed in a fit of laughter, Cordelia getting off the floor as quickly as possible. _

 

_ (End of Flashback) _

 

### 

 

Today marked 18 years since Misty left, and since she wrote the letter in her hand. And she thought perhaps, it was finally time to let it go. Everything has fell perfectly into place.

 

The unruly blonde sat on the bed and held the edges of the envelope, her fingers dancing across the now blunt edges that was passed through to Kyle to have it passed to her family if anything were to happen to her. And her mind felt like a mess. It felt like her life had come to a point of standstill and she was just slightly overwhelmed, no, very overwhelmed that she had come this far in life only to not know what's next.

 

_ Loving Cordelia…  _ She thought. That was something she could do for a lifetime and more.

 

“The party’s downstairs, what are you doing upstairs?” Cordelia asked as she stood leaned against the white trimmed door frame.

 

“Yea…” Misty sniffled, not answering as she looked up, a tear falling onto the envelope.

 

“Is something wrong? What's that you have there?” Cordelia questioned as she moved towards her wife of 10 years, her heart aching slightly to have to see Misty emotional.

 

“It’s nothin’, just some...” Misty trailed softly before quickly tearing up the letter, envelope and all into a dozen different pieces, still gripping onto it tightly, “Come’on, let’s go down.” And she stood up from the bed, giving Cordelia a soft lingering kiss flashing a reassuring smile before leading the woman out into the hallway and down the staircase.

 

The loud chattering from the kitchen travelled like music to their ears.

 

It had been a long time since everyone was together like this.

 

Eyeing the trash can at the side of the kitchen, Misty swiftly made her way over the dumped the remnants of the letters, knowing full well that she wouldn't regret it for she had her family now.

 

Madison was making a snide comment about Amelie's new hair and something about kissing the moon or maybe she heard wrong. Because she wasn't sure at all as her mind floated to some place else. She closed her eyes, Stevie music and all playing in the background as she ran the words of the letter one last time.

 

_ Dearest Cordelia, _

_ It's Misty. Do you still remember me?  _

_ I am laying on my bed now, thinking of you and thinking about the times we had together. And for the first time since I joined the Marines, I am terrified.  _

 

Cordelia's cleansing touch shook her and her sweet, sweet voice broke through her thoughts, "Mist… What are you thinking about?" And she stayed muted, hearing a sigh before feeling a slight movement to signal that her wife had walked away. The taller blonde closed her eyes and looked down, she knew tears were filling her eyes. She tried to hide it from Cordelia and everyone else but soon enough, her ragged breath caught Cordelia's attention and the straight blonde was immediately by her side.

 

The silence plagued the both of them, just as it had so many years ago.

 

_ This morning, first thing, I was sworn into the Marines as a soldier. Can you believe it? Cordelia? I’ve made something out of myself. I thought I would be happy but as every soldier in the room got sworn in with their family there to witness I felt sick to my stomach. To think that you could, no you should have been here together with Amelie and Julienne, I just… And as these thoughts haunt me, I have no one to talk to apart from you in this letter.  _

 

"Misty. What's wrong?" her wife asked again, this time, a firm grip was felt on her upper arm and she opened her eyes to meet worried bi-colored ones. And she saw it. She saw all the love Cordelia held for her in those eyes, the same ones she had fell in love with. When the wild blonde still remained muted, Cordelia broke into a fit of tears.

 

"Misty, you have to tell me what's wrong," she said between pathetic hiccups. She believed so much that their relationship was fine now and Misty was suddenly bursting into tears out of nowhere. Was this about the rape, or was this PTSD, or was this… Her thoughts raced through her mind as she frantically searched blue eyes for an explanation. She felt her heart thump erratically against her chest, her eyes growing strain from searching.

 

_ Cordelia, I never want to lose you. But I am so selfish that I have left you over such a silly thought. Because I wasn't good enough for you. Now, I am seeing the bigger picture. It is that you would've loved me anyway. But at that time, I did what seemed like was, what I thought was, the best thing to do. And I am sorry i left my daughter to you but I knew the minute I saw you with her that you were going to love her even after I am gone. And I knew if she had come with me, she wouldn't be able to experience all the things you could give her. So forgive me for my foolishness because I would give anything to see you once again. I am ashamed of myself for leaving you and now, I will have to live with the decision I made. So, please, forgive me.  _

 

Suddenly, Misty took off and Cordelia was almost sure that she was going to lose her again. Everyone in the kitchen was suddenly quiet, unsure of what was happening but aware that it was something not quite in their hands.

 

"Misty!" the cry in her voice was heartbreaking but it became clear to her that Misty was not going anywhere as she emerged from the kitchen to the view of the wild blonde pressing her hand onto the glinted glass, the last of the sun's rays fell slanted across her, and spilled like sweet honey onto the marble floors.

 

"I was… I'm fine… I was just thinkin' 'bout how far we've come… An' I… I shouldn't have just kept quiet… I'mma sorry..." Misty whispered to Cordelia who had joined her by the window as the taller blonde leaned in for a kiss before pulling her wife's body flush against hers.

 

The rest of the family had come into the living area to see the love unfold before their eyes, each one giving their loved ones a kiss on the lips or the forehead. "I love you," Cordelia breathed into Misty's ear. "I love ya' ta', Dee. Ya' make ma' world go 'round," the Cajun said quietly, only meant for Cordelia to hear as tears streamed further down her face and they kissed again, this time with all the passion they could muster, something between whimpers and uneven breaths.

 

_ I will end off this letter now because I am having trouble seeing through my cloudy vision. And if you are ever reading this letter, know that I loved you. I've always loved you since I set my eyes on you. You were different than all the other people. And it would always be you. In every city's skyline, in every swamp shack and in all of my lifetimes. I would never trade our time for anything else. Send my love to our beautiful daughters. And be brave, my sweet Cordelia. Be brave. _

 

And the both of them looked on into the horizon as the sun was setting, just like the first time they met. The room was silent apart from their synchronized breathing which pierced regularly through the golden rays. Cordelia who came from everything and Misty who came from nothing. They lived and they loved right in the heart of this city.

 

"The view doesn't get any better, huh?" Cordelia breathes softly, resting her head onto the tall blonde's shoulders. Misty simply looks on and nods before taking a deep breath.

 

_ I love you forever and ever, _

_ Misty Goode-Day _

 

**_Fin._ **

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... That was the last of it... Or maybe not... I am currently looking into the idea of writing an alternate ending for this. Also, it has been such a great journey writing the story of these two. Other than that, I will be starting a new Multi-chaptered AU soon enough so do look out for that! Thanks for reading!


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